


The Father, The Son, and The Nightmares In Between

by gerardsjuarez



Series: Nightmares [1]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood and Gore, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Suicide, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 11:31:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 48,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12431934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gerardsjuarez/pseuds/gerardsjuarez
Summary: Most avoid Catholic Churches as much as they can, but when Frank's mother forces him to join her, he can't help but piss her off in anyway he can. That is, until he decides to trust the 'assistant priest' and become the official church errand boy. Things take dark paths when old secrets are unsurfaced...





	1. Chapter 1

"Do I _really_ have to go?" He whined as his mother straightened his tie for the 100th time.

"It's about time I make you! Just because I let you slack off for a few years does not mean I'll let it happen again. Even if you are 18, you live in my house, thus you live under my rules." She huffed, causing another groan from her son.

He loosened his tie and glared at her when she tried to reach over again. If there was one thing she could loosen up, it would be _herself_. His mother made him stand in front of the mirror as she straightened him out, only for him to readjust himself moments later. He didn't like his shirt to be tucked in or for his tie to strangle him or for his hair to be gelled down. He liked having half of his shirt tucked in, his tie loose, and his hair to be ruffled and windblown. He thought the look made him look attractive rather than the catholic schoolboy his mother wanted him to be. His mother had always been catholic while he'd rather be at home. He did play it off like he had extra schoolwork to be doing rather than attend mass, but that plan soon failed after she realized he was watching television rather than studying.

So that's why he stood in front of the church, every inch of his body hating what was about to occur. He didn't belong in a church mostly because of a few secrets his mother didn't know about. He never confessed real things he did at confession. He made up things like stealing an apple from a kid at lunch to reading a pornographic magazine at his friend's house. What he was really doing was drinking, smoking, and drunkenly making out with his friends in their cars. His friends never remembered the heated make out sessions, but he did. He remembered because it was him who convinced them to get drunk and make out with him. If his friends remembered, well, he would be outed to half the school.

"Frank Anthony Iero Jr! Get inside!" His mother ushered, shoving him more than gently.

"I'm just enjoying the weather." He mumbled, actually letting the sun soak into his skin for the first time in weeks.

In all honesty, he missed going outside. He was so caught up in TV shows he didn't even know the name of, that he forgot how amazing it felt just to let the sun seep through your clothes and heat your entire body. Frank leaned against the frame of the closed church doors, shut his eyes, crossed his arms, and ignored his mother's heated rambling. Eventually she just told him to meet her after mass and he smirked, eyes still closed. He just stood there for a bit, hearing mass start.

"Of all people to send out in the morning! It's so hot and stuffy! All this for a thing of creamer!? I swear if I melt out here I am gonna... I'm gonna... I'm gonna quit! No... I can't do that... Ugh!" He heard someone mumble to themselves, approaching the doors.

He opened his eyes to see what looked like a very young priest. Frank tilted his head down some to get a better look at him. As he came closer, he realized that he was carrying a shopping bag and had a black umbrella open, shading him from the sun. It was a strange sight, but maybe he burned easily. He had black hair. He couldn't see his eyes from where he was. The priest made eye contact with him and sighed angrily. Frank found that the priest's eyes were a golden hazel.

"You aren't causing trouble are you?" He side-eyed him.

"No, sir. Just enjoying the sun." Frank replied honestly.

"How lovely," he mumbled the next part, "lucky son of a bitch."

He jumped a bit, surprised at the sudden vulgar language. He said those words a lot, but never in his entire life did he hear those words mumbled by a priest. The priest tried his hardest to organize his stuff in a way that would help him open the large church doors, but failed, only resulting in him dropping his bag. Frank rolled his eyes and sighed, pushing off the building. He came closer to the young priest, making him jump and almost yell 'what the hell'.

"I'm trying to help." He said, smirking lightly, picking up the bag and handing it to him.

The priest eyed him, grabbed the bag, and stepped aside, allowing him to open the doors for him. But the thing was, was that the doors couldn't be budged. He tried several times to maybe yank it open, but it was locked. The priest made a disgruntled noise.

"I forgot...They started locking the doors... Ugh, this is the only way in, what am I supposed to do? I'll die out here!"

He chuckled lowly, causing the priest to glare at him, "What? You'll die? I know another way in."

"That's impossible." The priest scoffed.

"I snoop around here when I get bored, don't worry, nothing bad." He added when he saw his facial expression, "Follow me."

Frank shoved his hands in his pockets and started his way to the side of the church, but stopped when he assumed the priest wasn't behind him. He looked over his shoulder, smiling when he saw the priest struggling to hold up his umbrella. He sighed and shook his head, letting the priest catch up to him. Frank just kept smiling while the priest kept eyeing him as if he were going to go on a killing rampage any second.

Frank reached for the umbrella handle, "I'll hold it for you, if that's okay, sir."

He looked Frank up and down before handing him the umbrella handle. Frank held it firm in place so that no sun touched him. He wanted to earn the guy's trust for some reason. Usually he wanted nothing to do with priests, but hey, might as well score some points in God's book so he might get a second glance before being trap-doored into hell. Frank led the priest to the back of the church and stopped outside a large window.

"You must be joking." The priest scoffed.

"No, sir. The window doesn't open easily, but it opens." He handed the umbrella back to him.

Frank yanked his pocket knife from his pocket and watched the priest jump when he flicked it open. He just looked at him, smiling, and lifted an eyebrow. He went back to the window and shoved his blade under the bottom part of it, jiggling the knife slightly to unlock it. After a second or two he got it and made a happy noise when he did so. The priest sighed happily but then glared at Frank when he turned to him.

"How do you know how to do that?" He snapped.

"I get locked out of my house a lot." He shrugged, speaking honestly.

"You aren't lying to me, are you boy?"

Frank chuckled, "I've been telling the truth the whole time, sir."

Frank was starting to get a little annoyed with how the priest was treating him but tried to ignore it. The last thing he wanted to happen was for his mom to find out that he bad mouthed a priest. He didn't like how the guy talked to him, looked at him, or how he thought he was above Frank. Maybe he was in a sense, but in reality, he was just another person. Regardless of religious status, you should treat everyone decently. Frank may have hated half the people he meets, but at least he was nice to them. He sighed and turned back to the window, rolled up his sleeves, and pried it open with his fingertips. He heard a significant pop when he shoved the window open. He peered inside to see that no one was in the office that the window led to. He looked back at the priest who had a hint of blush on his cheeks.

Frank did a once over of himself and noticed he had rolled up his sleeves, showing some tattoos he had gotten not-so-legally when he was under 18. He had made a tattoo gun and he knew some people, so naturally, Frank had some tattoos. His mother didn't like them, but she didn't stop him when he got more, this time legally. The priest swallowed and glared at him. Frank could already hear the question he was about to ask him.

"How old are you, boy?"

"I'm eighteen. Anymore questions?" Frank snapped back, regretting it as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Do not talk to me that way! Don't you know who I am?" He put a hand to his chest.

"No, in fact. We don't know each other." Frank reached for the priest's bags and he handed them to Frank, "I do know that I'm getting pretty pissed with how you're treating me."

Frank reached inside and set them down on the ground, getting ready to jump inside until the priest stopped him, touching him for the first time. Frank jumped at how cold his hands were on his arm. He looked up questioningly at him, noticing that he looked a little guilty. Frank was proud of that. He deserved to feel that way.

"I apologize. I didn't realize I was so..."

"Bitchy?" Frank offered, surprised when the guy just nodded, not phased by Frank's cursing, "I accept your apology."

"Really?"

"I may be a kid to you, but I'm not an animal. I forgive you." He rolled his eyes, flinging a leg inside.

The priest watched him struggle for a second until he got the hint and asked to help Frank, of which Frank gladly accepted. The priest held his umbrella between his shoulder and neck as he used both hands to help push Frank in. He used one hand to hold his foot while the other was on his thigh. Frank got in, only falling slightly before he caught himself on a table, scrapping his arm before he landed on his ass. He called out softly in pain and the priest ducked his head into see what the commotion was about.

"Are you okay?"

"Just peachy." Frank groaned, standing up to help the priest.

"I sense sarcasm in that comment." He said when Frank met him at the window.

"You don't miss anything, do you?" He rolled his eyes, "Now, can I take your umbrella?"

He hesitated for a moment before nodding and closing the umbrella and handing it to Frank. Frank set it on the desk in the office and went back to the priest who looked very distressed and hot. He almost looked like he was panting. Frank ignored that and instructed him to fling a leg over the ledge so Frank could pull him in. He did so and Frank asked permission to touch him. The priest looked confused at first but realized he was just being polite. He nodded, allowing Frank to get a grip on his waist and pull him in, almost falling over due to the priest's weight. He caught himself on Frank's shoulders, squeaking when he hit his leg on the same table that scratched him. It was rather entertaining. Frank would've never expected someone like him to squeak. He pulled away from Frank and brushed himself off. Frank closed the window and the priest asked him to close the curtains as well. Frank of course complied, not phased by a curtain closing request.

The priest coughed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Frank crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

The priest smiled at Frank and he was surprised he was even capable of doing that. He didn't smile all the way, but it was something. He smiled kind of how a kid who just got braces would. The priest sat down in the office chair and leaned back, taking off his collar and unbuttoning his shirt. He sighed and wiped his hair out of his face.

"You alright?" Frank asked.

"I should ask you the same thing." He said, pointing at Frank's arm which was starting to bleed.

"Shit." He looked at the priest who was too distracted with a fan, "Where's the bathroom?"

"There's one in here." He pointed behind him to a door, avoiding Frank's eyes, swallowing.

Frank nodded, eyeing him for a second, and went inside the small bathroom. The bathroom was as bland as they come. White tile, white sink, white toilet. The mirror was a medicine cabinet and Frank opened it to see if there were any bandages of any kind. Thankfully for him, there was some gauze wrap that would do just fine. Frank turned on the hot water and splashed it onto his cut, which was much deeper than he had expected. He winced every so often because it hurt like a bitch. After he finished cleaning it, he wrapped the gauze around his arm and cut it off with a pair of small scissors he found in a drawer under the sink. The gauze was the kind that stuck to itself in some magical way, so Frank just patted it and walked back out into the office.

"I never asked your name." The priest said, looking up at him.

"Frank."

"You wouldn't by any chance be Linda Iero's son, would you?"

"Yup. She's my birth giver."

He chuckled, "That's one way to put it."

Frank hesitated for a second, "Would it be inappropriate to ask your name?"

"Not at all." He paused, "My name is Gerard, but Father Way would be your best bet if you addressed me during mass... Shit... Mass!"

He hurried around and put his collar back on. He buttoned his shirt up as he searched for the creamer. The bags were by Frank's feet so he picked them up and handed them to him. He thanked Frank and headed out the door, Frank following him to the sanctuary. Frank sat alone in the very back, really only there to watch rather than learn.

The priest he had been with, Father Way, wasn't the one preaching. In fact, the priest who was at the altar was a balding older man with white hair. He searched around for a bit and finally found Father Way sitting in a shaded corner with his legs crossed and a hand held fan. He looked as if he had just sat down after running a few miles. Frank watched him for almost the entire time he was in that church. They made eye contact a total of twice and neither of them looked away automatically. They would stare at each other for a second or two until Father Way would look back at the man preaching. By the time Frank's butt went numb, mass was over and he could go home. His mother found him standing against the wall at the back of the church staring at the now asleep Father Way. His mother followed his gaze and sighed.

"I'm assuming you had to help him inside? He never does anything right. Surprised he's still a priest." She looked back at Frank.

"I helped his through a window and hurt my arm. He was being a little snappy." Frank shrugged.

She grumbled insults towards Father Way and looked back at Frank with worry, "Wait, you got hurt?"

He nodded, "Scraped my arm on a table. I fell."

He showed her the bloodstained gauze and she sighed again, this time relieved, "I'm glad you're okay. And even if Father Way was being rude to you, I'm proud you helped him. Maybe you aren't as bad as I thought you were..."

Frank broke his gaze from Father Way to look at her, a smirk on her face. He laughed and hit her gently, "Mom!"

She laughed too, grabbing his arm gently, hooking her arm with his like they used to do when he was young. Frank made a joke about leading 'her majesty' and led her outside. He opened her car door for her, saying 'after you, my lady'. His mom was in a fit of laughter and it made Frank happy. He never got to make his mother laugh a lot, but when he did, it always brought a smile to his face. Sure, his mother and him quarrelled a lot, but he loved her; even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Should we get A&W?" She smiled.

"Only if I can get cheese curds and a rootbeer float." Frank teased at her.

"Oh that just won't do!" She teased back, "But of course, Frankie. I wouldn't expect anything less from a pig like you."

"Ma!"

"Hey, I'm a pig, too. It's a compliment."

"Yeah, sure." Frank rolled his eyes as they pulled out of the parking lot and made their way to the next town, where they would spend the next hour in.


	2. Chapter 2

Frank didn't wake up to his usual alarm, but rather a voice. He ignored it at first, thinking it was dreams mixing with reality. He rolled over and the voice followed him, standing on the other side of the bed. He protested when they ripped the covers off of him, and he almost screamed when he saw Father Way standing over him. He yanked the covers back and blinked away the sleep, noticing it was his mother and not some religious figure. He was still pissed off because his alarm should've woken him up. He didn't like seeing anyone for the first few hours of the day. That's why he was an early riser. He glanced over at his clock, which he couldn't read due to the sleep still clouding his head.

"Frank! You're late!" His mother yelled, yanking him out of bed, causing him to collide harshly with the wall.

"Jesus, Ma!" He mumbled, wiping his eyes.

"I'd expect you to wear more clothes to bed." She glared at him.

Frank looked down and sighed. He wasn't embarrassed of his body, but his mother always made him feel like he should be. He was quite proud of it actually. He used to struggle with weight and he made it his goal to be fit and keep it that way. He liked sleeping in just his boxers because it got hot at night. Well, that and he didn't exactly have clothes he could sleep in. He stretched and made a noise when his back cracked.

"You're late for school."

"I only have one class today."

She sighed, defeated, "I forgot about the required class program..."

"You forget every single day. I should really hang up a sign..." Frank laughed at his own joke, going over to his alarm clock and seeing it ran out of battery.

When he turned around to tell his mother that he needed new batteries, she avoided looking at him directly. She looked ashamed and almost embarrassed. Then he realized why when she said, "You're saluting me, Frank."

Frank didn't get it at first, but when it clicked, he looked down, covered himself, and ordered her out of the room, saying 'shit, fuck- oh my god...' to himself. He sat back down on his bed and cringed silently, wishing to be set on fire. He had done embarrassing things in front of his mom before, but this drew a line in their relationship. At least she pointed it out to Frank rather than leaving him to find out on his own and tear himself up over it all day. He got back up and walked over to his dresser to get his clothes before walking into his bathroom to take a shower. What he was thinking about was in no way catholic of him, but he thought 'fuck that' and masturbated when he got in the shower.

He messed around until noon rolled around and decided he should head out to the school so he could meet his friends for lunch and take his one class of the day. He threw on his uniform which consisted of a white dress shirt, tie, and black pants. He, of course, tweaked it to the point where it was still the uniform, but something he enjoyed wearing. He looped his wallet chain on his belt and shoved the wallet into his pocket. He rolled up his sleeves, doing a once over of himself in the bathroom mirror, nodding to himself when he thought he looked rather attractive. Most people Frank's age didn't have as much self esteem and self confidence as he did, and he was proud of that. He knew he was attractive and used it against people, which also wasn't very catholic of him. He got sick and tired of people saying things like 'no one likes a smug person' and 'be modest', so he did everything possible to piss them off, including painting his nails black. What? he had thought when people gave him looks, Never seen a punk before?

He walked down the street with his hands in his pockets, earbuds in his ears, blaring his favorite songs off of his extremely outdated iPod. A few people passed him, giving him side glances, but for the first time in forever, an old lady said hello and that he looked very handsome, much like her son when he was Frank's age. That had make Frank smile wide and thanked her, saying he felt very handsome today. She had laughed, crossing her legs on the park bench she was sitting on, and told him to seize the day.

He loved elderly people. They were always so nice to him.

The school was in sight and he smiled when he could see his friends hanging out by the doors, their girlfriends chatting amongst themselves. He approached them with a smug smile and it grew into a grin when they all fake catcalled him. His friend Ray came up to him and checked him out. His girlfriend and her friend came up as well, whispering things to each other.

"Damn, Frank!" Christa, Ray's girlfriend, exclaimed, checking him out, a hand on Frank's shoulder, "Stop being so hot! I might have to fight Ray for you."

Ray nudged her playfully and she smirked. Her friend, whom Frank still did not know the name of, made a very nice comment about his hair, making Frank smile at his shoes. He knew he looked nice but he still got flustered when people complimented him. Bob, James, and Mikey, his other friends, came out of the building finally and all made noises of approval towards Frank.

"You are easily the hottest guy in school, I swear to God." Kristin, Mikey's girlfriend, said.

"Kris!" He said, mocking surprise.

"After you, babe." She rolled her eyes.

They all caught up and chatted about teachers and how they made classes hell. Frank simply laughed when James told him the art teacher got arrested for having an affair with a chick named Ashley. Frank said he had called it because he caught them eyeing each other from the beginning of freshman year, and that it was about time they got caught. They made their way inside and Frank told them about his encounter at church with Father Way.

"Frank has the hots for a priest!" Kristin kept chanting at the top of her lungs.

Eventually Mikey put his hand over her mouth and told her to shut up and to let Frank continue with the story. Frank just laughed and said that the priest seemed a little young to even be a priest. Christa asked if he was attractive and Frank answered honestly, saying 'he was totally bangable if he wasn't a priest'. Everyone laughed at that, including Frank.

"He was kind of bitchy to me at first and then I told him to stop and he did. He was like scared to touch me and carried an umbrella with him. He was definitely a weirdo, but he seemed alright for a catholic priest, let's be honest." Frank shrugged, leaning forward.

"And he's totally bangable." Kristin smirked and Mikey sighed.

"If you guys aren't banging by the time you graduate, Frank, I'll be disappointed and disown you as a son." James said, crossing his arms.

"Get ready to disown, Dad, cause I want no part of his holy dick." Frank laughed.

Christa's friend opened her mouth to say something but closed it, but Christa nudged her, encouraging her to add to the 'tease Frank' session, "You say that now, but when it's just you and him in that confession box and he wraps his rosary around your neck..."

She made the universal blowjob symbol and the entire table burst into heavy laughter, wheezing and holding their stomachs. Frank laughed too but not as much as the others. He regretted ever saying anything about how attractive Father Way was. What if one of them betrayed him and told Father Way? His mother would not like to hear that story. Thankfully the bell rang before any of them continued to make Frank's stomach churn uneasily. All this talk about having sex with a priest really made him queasy. They all got up and the couples shared a kiss before going about their ways, except for Christa and her friend; they stayed behind. Frank was at his locker when they approached. He smiled at them and closed his locker, book in arm. Christa pushed her friend towards him and walked off, leaving them alone.

"Hi," she blushed, "I'm Jamia."

She stuck out her hand and Frank removed a hand from his pocket to shake it, "Frank,"

"It's finally nice to meet you. Christa has told me a lot about you." She met his eyes, releasing his hand.

Frank smiled and put his hand back in his pocket. Jamia was really pretty, he'll admit that, "Yeah? What'd she say?"

"Nothing bad!" She clarified, even though Frank knew Christa would never say anything bad about him in the first place, "She said you were really cool and very handsome. She wasn't wrong about the last one, that's for sure."

He gazed at his shoes and looked back up at her, a half smile on his face, "Doesn't surprise me. Christa's like my match maker or something. Every time she meets a pretty girl she always blabs about me."

She blushed, "You think I'm pretty?"

Frank shrugged and looked at the clock near his locker, "I gotta go,"

"Hey, um," she paused, looking away, "Would you maybe wanna do something later? I already asked Christa, Ray, Mikey, and Kristin if they would go out tonight and I was wondering if you maybe wanna come?"

Frank smiled again. Jamia seemed like a sweet girl and he didn't want to turn her down, regardless if Frank didn't like her type. He just liked getting to know people and who knows, maybe Jamia will be his new best friend. Frank nodded and exchanged phone numbers with her, waving as he walked off to his one class of the day.

...

Frank was back at home on his computer, looking at old photos on his hard drive, most of which were of his old dogs. His time was shortened due to a phone call from the famous Jamia. He thought some mean things but quickly brushed them aside and waited a few seconds before answering his phone, trying not to sigh.

"Frank?"

"The one and only." He grunted, sitting up in his desk chair.

"I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" She asked, concern very obvious in her voice.

Frank sighed, "Nope. Just looking at photos. What's up?"

"I talked to the others and they don't know what to do tonight, and I was wondering if you had any ideas?" She sounded hopeful and that made Frank smile.

He knew the exact thing to do to put her off, "How about we hang out at the church? It's boring during the day, but at night, it's the best place. Trust me. I go there alone a lot."

"Sounds kind of dangerous... what if we get caught?"

Frank laughed a little harder than he should've, "If we get caught? I can get out of anything, trust me. The cops could care less about some kids chilling by a church. Trust me, I know my stuff."

She sounded hesitant, "Okay... I'll take your word. I'll call up the others and tell them. When should we meet?"

Frank hummed while he thought and spun around in his chair, "How's 7-ish?"

"Good. Should we bring anything...?"

Frank smirked, "Anything you want. I'm already set with booze, if that's what you mean."

"We've just met and you already know me well." She laughed, "Okay, sounds good. I'll see you then?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

Jamia giggled, a bubbly sound, "Bye, Frank."

"Adios." He sighed and hung up.

Seven was approaching within an hour and Frank decided to use that time to mess around while getting ready. Tonight was going to be a cooler night, around 60 degrees fahrenheit, so he dressed in layers. He stripped of his uniform and put on a tank top, a band shirt, and a green and black flannel. He shimmied his way into a pair of tight blue jeans and checked himself out in the mirror. He looked relaxed and casual, but his still edgy self. He nodded, ruffling his hair. He got an idea. He grabbed some of the hair gel from its dusty hiding spot under his bed and opened it, sniffing it and making a noise when it smelled as horrid as he remembered. He squeezed a little into his hand and surprisingly, it still worked. He spiked up the back of his hair and put some on the front, smoothing it down some. His mom hated it when he spiked his gelled down hair. She liked it to lay flat while he, on the other hand, loved volume. He messed around for a bit and even picked up his neglected guitar, groaning when he found out he was getting rusty.

The time to leave approached faster than he had anticipated so he showed up at the cemetery around 7:30. He parked his car across the street and practically ran over to his friends, who were glad to see him and very happy to see the case of beer he had. Frank wasn't going to drink because then he couldn't control himself or the others around him. Usually when the guys got drunk, the girlfriends would go home. That meant Frank could make out with one of them in his car later. He still hadn't decided which one was the lucky boy tonight. He would see which one showed the most drunken interest in him before picking the lucky winner.

"Hey!" Jamia greeted him, "Oh sweet you got good beer. I was worried you'd get some cheap ass stuff from Walmart."

Frank scoffed, "Who do I look like to you? Walmart beer? Nah, I got this from the liquor store. I do have a fake ID after all."

Jamia nodded approvingly and grabbed a beer. Everyone else started chugging and Frank found it amusing. Jamia had offered to share a beer with Frank, but he declined and said he was the designated driver. That was the half truth. He'd only drive home the guy who he kissed. Kristin was wasted within an hour and slowly Christa made up her mind to take her home and asked Jamia if she would like a ride, too. Jamia looked at her phone and made a scared noise, realizing she was out way past curfew. Kristin kept chanting things that didn't make sense as Christa led her to her car. Frank glanced at the guys and he decided which one he was going to take home.

Mikey.

He was starting to get a little tipsy and Frank could tell he was eyeing him in the way Frank wanted him to. Ray had become distracted with some headstone so naturally Mikey came up to Frank and started chatting him up. Frank tried not to laugh because he didn't want or need to be chatted up. He had always found Mikey to be a very attractive friend. He didn't like the idea of dating him, but the thought of touching him made Frank's knees weak.

"Frank, I-" Mikey started, sliding a hand up Frank's thigh, "I never realized how hot you are..."

Frank merely smirked and leaned in, knowing Mikey would lead. They're faces were just about to meet when a flash of light was shone at them. They leaned away from one another and Ray screamed rather femininely. Mikey scurried to his feet and dashed away with Ray. They ran drunkenly away to what Frank assumed was Ray's house, which was about two blocks from there. Frank lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the light.

"Frank?"

Frank's heart almost stopped beating, "Father Way?"


	3. Chapter 3

Frank dashed away as fast as he could. There was no way in hell he would stay behind to discuss just exactly what he had been doing in the church cemetery. He jumped into his car and sped away, leaving Gerard in his rearview mirror. Just how Frank wanted to see him. Far away. He took back any formerly said praisings Frank had said about that priest. He hated him. He ruined the one time Frank enjoyed the most. He had only kissed Mikey a total of twice and Frank wanted to change that, after all, three times a charm. Frank shook his head and pulled into the Walmart parking lot so he didn't do something reckless while driving.

"Get your shit together." He mumbled to himself, putting the car in park.

He removed his hands from the wheel and sighed. He put his face in his hands and leaned back into his seat. He growled at himself and hit the steering wheel angrily, but this only caused him to recoil and cradle his hand. He mumbled insults to himself and stepped outside his car, making sure to kick the tire before marching his way into Walmart. He didn't know exactly what he was going to buy or what the hell he was doing there in the first place, but he just wandered around aimlessly. He was surprised to see some people in the store at 10:00 pm, but the place was open 24 hours, so what else did he expect? The aisles were vacant and empty, so he graced their presence with himself and stared at one bottle of soy sauce for about ten minutes. He found himself thinking about Father Way and shook his head getting an idea.

"One red Marlboro, please." He mumbled, sliding the lady his ID.

To be truthful, Frank didn't like buying cigarettes at Walmart, but they were just right there and he couldn't stop himself. There were no gas stations on the way to his house from here and he needed some cigs right now. The chick, who looked maybe 25, looked Frank up and down and studied his ID closely.

"It's real. I'm 18. I'm just really fucking short." Frank grumbled.

She snorted, "What are you, like 4'9"?"

He laughed and shook his head, "Sometimes I feel shorter."

She chuckled and searched for the correct brand. After a second she appeared with Frank's desired product and rang them up, asking for Frank to pay $10.54. Frank handed her a ten dollar bill and a one dollar bill, saying she could keep the change. She thanked him and made another comment about his height. She probably was high, but honestly Frank didn't mind. He wouldn't want to be sober if he worked at Walmart either.

"Catch you later, short stuff!"

"Don't count on it!" He called back.

He got out of that store as quickly as he had run away from Father Way. He got back into his car, but instead of driving home, he returned to the cemetery. Well not the cemetery but a cemetery. There were two in town. The one by the church and the one almost no one knew about. This cemetery held stones you couldn't read, but the ones you could said '1794' or '1801'. They survived a flood and Frank claimed the place as his sanctuary. He knew it was stupid, claiming it to be his, and also very emo of him, but in all honestly, he just liked how quiet it was. His friends weren't screaming and playing around and their girlfriends weren't getting in their pants in front of him. Out here he could just lean against a slab of stone and smoke. He could be alone.

He crawled out of his car and parked it about a block away from the field he waded through to get to the patch of forest the cemetery was in. It took about ten minutes to get to it, but Frank always found it was worth it. Even if it was pitch black. He had a battery powered lamp in his car that kept there just for occasions like this. He didn't turn it on until he saw the familiar shadowy shapes of his fatal sanctuary. Get it? he thought, Fatal? Cause they're dead? He set his now lit lamp on a thicker stone and sat in front of it, taking out his new cigs and lighting a much needed one between his teeth.

He leaned back against the stone and sighed happily, feeling the warmth of the sun still on it, "Fucking amazing." He mumbled.

He could almost feel the trees whisper in agreement.

...

"I almost called in a missing person!" His mother exclaimed when he came in the house at about 5 am. She took him into her arms and then backed away slowly, glaring at Frank. He had fallen asleep outside, so he wasn't really in the best mood. In fact, he came inside the house with a cigarette between his lips and he didn't care if his mother would literally kill him for smoking inside. He didn't care.

"Yeah, whatever. Fell asleep." He mumbled, making sure to blow smoke past her instead of in her face.

"What do you mean you 'fell asleep'?" She spat, taking Frank back.

He sighed, "I went to that cemetery to chill and fell asleep, I didn't mean to."

She tightened her jaw, "Were you alone?"

Frank knew she could smell the lie on him before he even told it, "Yeah."

What he said was half true, but he knew he smelled of booze. He didn't drink any, but his friends were very clumsy and touchy when they're drunk. So his mom was suspicious. He understood that. He simply shrugged, sat at the kitchen table, and reached for the ashtray in the middle. He flicked some ash into it as his mother sat down across from him. She looked about as desperate for one as he was. He groaned at her and opened his box, offering her one. She glared at him, sighed, and took one, stealing his lighter before lighting it between her lips. They sat in complete silence for a long time before she broke it.

"Are you going to school today?"

He laughed, "Do I look like I'm the kind of state to do that?"

She shrugged, "You've missed a lot of days."

He sighed, "Since I only have two classes, I'll go. But for now, I'm taking a nap."

She glared, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

He sunk in his chair, knowing it probably involved him in ways he didn't want it to, "Yes?"

She sighed, looking down at the table, "I volunteered with some ladies to help clean the church today and I don't want you alone, so you're coming with me."

Frank choked and coughed, eyes wide. He stared at his mom as if she had just confessed to murdering an entire family. Frank felt like he was going to projectile vomit at any second, "E-excuse me?!"

She stopped in her tracks, "What's wrong with that? I'll get you lunch after we're done! Your classes today aren't until two! And I checked, so don't tell me otherwise."

"I seriously can't do anything else? Anything at all? I'll clean the house, I'll even scrub the toilets! Just can't I stay home?" Frank pleaded with his mom, using his best puppy dog expression.

"Tempting, but that means no lunch." She paused, "Never mind, I'm not negotiating. You're coming with me, whether or not you like it. Make yourself look presentable, we leave at 10."

Frank stood up and pocketed the cigarettes he had been sharing with her. She made a sad noise, "I'll look however I want, okay? And if that means going exactly as I am, then so be it. If I'm doing something I don't want to do then-"

"Frank," she sighed, cutting him off, "Just take a shower. That's all I'm asking. You smell like you died and then crawled out of the grave."

"Oh," he looked down, ashamed, "Sorry..."

"It's nothing. I'm just pissy. Take a shower, get dressed." She waved him off.

...

Frank wanted to die rather than go to that church. He knew that Father Way would be there, he just knew he would. He knew that he would want to talk to Frank and talking was the last thing Frank wanted to do with him. He was dreading the impending situation by laying down on his bed and staring at the ceiling, blaring The Smashing Pumpkins in his earbuds. He thought of all the possible outcomes. One even included genocide, but Frank just thought of that one for fun. It was sick and twisted, yes, but the thought of never going back to that church felt amazing. He had drifted off while thinking about running away, but was eventually shaken awake by his frustrated mother.

He ripped his headphones from his ears and grumbled, telling her that lunch should be amazing or he was going to flip. She just ignored his comments and drug him to the car. He tried again to negotiate with her, even saying he would do her laundry, but she still refused. He pouted the entire ride there and even glared at a few toddlers he saw as they passed by. They and it easy. They didn't have responsibilities nor did they have to worry about priests. Well, some of them did, but Frank steered clear of that thought process.

Frank was extremely tired and almost fell asleep on the car ride there. He knew he must've looked a bit sleepy, but at this point, that was the least of his worries. His stomach lurched when his mother put the car in park.  When he got out of the car and looked at his reflection, smiling for probably the first time today. His hair was messy, but in an almost hot way. His white shirt was crinkled due to sleep and his jeans fit him loosely, but nice nonetheless. He didn't even look at the church as his mother led him to it. Every single step he took felt like there was an anvil attached to it. His breathing got shallow and his heartbeat grew fast. He didn't even know why he was so nervous or scared, he could just lie to Father Way. He's done that to priests before. It was easy! He could just lie his way out! No, he thought, I can't do that. He saw me and Mikey. He recognized me. 

"Linda!" One of Frank's mother's friends greeted her with a hug, "And you must be Frank."

"The one and only." Frank sighed, obviously not wanting to be there.

"We could use some help. Father says there's lots of stuff we have to do. The church hasn't been dusted in over 5 years, I swear!" Her friend continued, glancing between the two of them as she spoke.

A shadowy figure stood in a corner and Frank just knew it was Father Way, or rather Gerard. He decided to call him Gerard from now on because he didn't believe he was respectful enough to be called such a thing. Frank avoided the corner, feeling his presence looming there was enough to set Frank's teeth on edge. He didn't even want to enter the church but his mom discreetly shoved him in, greeting all the other girls she was going to be working with. Frank tried his best to leave a good impression because he knew his mom wouldn't take him somewhere nice for lunch if he made a fool of himself in front of her friends.

"Just sit in the pews for now. Father will tell you to do something if he wants to and don't refuse." She pointed her finger sternly and Frank nodded, putting his hands up defensively.

Frank of course didn't follow directions and went upstairs to sit in the balcony. It was in direct sunlight from the window, so Frank just kicked back and basked in it. He sighed in content until he heard a door open behind him. He didn't even want to look to see who it was because he already knew. It was Gerard.

"What?" Frank said, opening his eyes to stare at the stained glass windows.

He felt the priest stare at him, and he was, rather intensely, but not for the reasons Frank thought, "I'd like you to come with me."

Frank sat up and turned around to see Gerard wearing rather casual clothes. He wasn't wearing his usual priest attire, but a black button up and dress pants. His arms were crossed in a natural pose. Frank stood up but didn't look him in the eye. Gerard blocked the door until Frank looked up at him. He tilted his head up and smiled, finally stepping aside to let Frank through the door. Frank thought his actions were strange but tried not to question it. He didn't want his thoughts to go places in front of the man.

Frank tried to make small talk but failed, "Um, h-how have you been?"

Gerard simply ignored him and held his office door open for Frank. Before he walked in, he made eye contact with his mother who was organizing something. He pleaded with his eyes, but she couldn't see his expression. She just gave him a thumbs up and a smile. Frank swallowed and prepared for impending death. Gerard told him to sit down and Frank complied. He watched him dig through a drawer and pull out a box of Marlboros. Frank made a face involuntarily.

Gerard raised an eyebrow, "I found these in the cemetery after you left. Thanks for the gift. I assume they were yours?" He played with the box before turning it around and showing Frank the writing on it. He read it aloud, "'Do not touch, Frank's'. I also found a few beer bottles, and with my knowledge of you, I know you are not of drinking age, am I correct?"

Frank nodded.

He continued, "I also know you weren't drinking, but I do know you bought the beer with a fake ID. Here are you options," He leaned on his desk, getting closer to Frank, "You can either deny these statements and I call the police, or you become the official errand boy and we never speak of it. Pick your poison."

Frank opened his mouth to speak but no noise came out. He promptly closed it and thought before opening it again to say rather quietly, "No one else knows?"

"Just me, myself, and I." He answered, sitting back in his office chair.

Frank looked down and closed his eyes for a second before giving into the threat, "The second one."

"What was that? I didn't understand your mumbling." He said honestly.

Frank spoke a little louder but with less confidence, "I'll be your errand boy."

Frank finally looked up at Gerard to see his reaction. Gerard sat forward again and smiled. He tossed Frank his cigarette box and to Frank's surprise, it was empty, "Good choice."

"What about my cigs?" Frank asked, some rage bubbling up.

Gerard got up and turned his back to him, searching through a cupboard. He watched Gerard pull out a bottle of whiskey and pour himself a small glass. He turned around with the glass in hand and sat back down, waiting a few seconds to take a drink before answering Frank's question. Gerard smiled a closed mouth smile, still resembling the 'I just got braces' look. Frank smiled back involuntarily. This caused the priest to give him a slight look.

"That's where you come in," Gerard leaned back, "I want your first mission to be the gas station. I want you to get me a two pack of the exact brand in your hand, okay? If you make it back without causing any trouble, which should be easy enough, I'll let you have the second pack."

"You seem to be in a better mood than the last time we met." Frank mumbled to himself, expecting Gerard not to hear him.

"That's because I'm not stuck outside with a stranger, now am I?"

Frank laughed darkly, standing up, "Now you're inside with one."

"You aren't sketchy, Frank. Smug and maybe a little arrogant, but not sketchy. And that day I was upset with having to go out." He became closed off and handed Frank 20 dollars, "Best be off. I hope to see you soon, or else we'll have another discussion."

"Understood." Frank said through clenched teeth, quickly leaving his office.

Frank's mother asked him what they discussed and he told her that Father Way had asked him to become the office errand runner and that he had said yes. His mom seemed rather excited by that and wished him a safe trip to wherever he was going. He thanked her and stormed out of the church with a huff. He didn't want to do this but knew what would happen if he didn't. He could possibly be arrested or even outed to the school. He knew what Gerard had seen. He just didn't tell Frank. He groaned when the realization hit him. He was probably going to have to tell his friends what he did today. He couldn't lie to them, however, because they could see right through his façade. And what if Mikey or Ray remembered what happened last night? He shook his head and sighed in relief when he saw the gas station.

He walked in and searched for a snack for a bit and decided on a bag of Cheetos and a bottle of Pepsi. He had to show the guy at the register his ID and clarify it was real. His height was getting in the way of his needs. The cashier just laughed with Frank when Frank made a self deprecating joke about his height. He was walking back to the church now, but stopped for a second to catch his breath. He hadn't done this much walking since last summer. He leaned against the pole and closed his eyes, taking a long and deep breath. He was almost tempted to open one of the boxes but he knew that if he did so, one of the packs wouldn't be his.

Eventually he cut his rest short because an object at rest stays at rest and in all honesty, he just wanted a free pack of cigs. He couldn't care less about anything else. He was starting to sound like an addict, but oh well. He walked with the cigarettes in on bag and his stuff in the other. The bags were inside one another for carrying, but that's besides the point. Frank's thoughts wandered to Gerard again. He wondered if it would seem nice of him to share his food with Father Way and if it would score some nice points for the afterlife.

Frank shook his head, laughing to himself as he saw the church in view. Frank expected it to look more welcoming as he came back, but alas, it still looked shitty. The stairs creaked under his feet as he walked up them and the door groaned when he opened it. His mother was happy to see him back and asked if his trip went well. He told her it went fine but said he needed to hurry and give Father Way the things he asked him to buy. She made a worried expression and hurried him along, giving him a gentle shove and two thumbs up. He shook his head and thought about how weird his mother was in front of her friends.

Frank knocked on the door to Gerard's office, silently wishing he wouldn't answer, but the door opened slowly and then quickly when Father Way realized it was Frank.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up." Gerard smiled, gesturing for Frank to sit back down.

Frank didn't argue and sat down in a chair in front of his desk like he had done before. Gerard sat behind his desk and looked at Frank expectantly. Frank thought he saw some excitement, too, but he couldn't be sure. Gerard watched Frank as he dug through the plastic bags and pulled out the boxes of cigarettes.

"Thank you, Frankie!" Gerard said rather happily, but covered it up with a cough and a smooth phrase, "Now, I'm hesitant to do this, but I guess I'll let you have the other box..."

"The catch?" Frank sighed, knowing there was something else.

"You share those Cheetos with me."

Frank laughed. Like actually laughed out loud, causing Gerard to recoil with a look of confusion, "I don't know what's so funny?"

"Here I was thinking you were some smooth man at the top of his game, but you're asking me, a 'troubled teen' to stay and share a bag of Cheetos?" He sighed, leaning back, "I was gonna share them anyway, but the way you asked sounded so desperate."

Gerard glared at Frank as he processed this and opened a box of cigarettes, smacking the package on the heel of his hand. After a bit, he opened a drawer, pulled out a lighter, and lit one between his teeth. He took a long drag of it, leaned forward on the desk towards Frank. He rested his elbows on the desk and smiled. He blew the smoke in Frank's face, making Frank wave away the smoke before it got into his eyes.

"We're all desperate for something, Frankie." He started, "Some people are desperate for a cigarette, some are desperate for pills, some are even desperate for sex." He paused, letting it sink in, "And a minority really want some shitty gas station Cheetos."


	4. Chapter 4

"Frank seriously, have you fucked the priest yet?" Kristin harassed Frank, draping over him in a dramatic manner.

Mikey watched her, amusement and annoyance on his face. He wasn't jealous, just intrigued. Kristin had been a lot more dramatic lately and he was almost convinced she was drunk all the time. Frank made an involuntary face at her comment and gently shoved her off of him. He made a disgruntled noise and Kristin put a hand on his arm, asking if he was alright. Frank loosened up when he saw the genuine concern on her face.

"I'm fine." He said shortly.

"No you aren't." James retorted.

"Shut up, James." Frank snapped.

Everyone jumped at Frank's sudden anger. Frank had been in a pretty good mood until he stepped foot on campus. He assumed it was just the air of the place, but there was something more attached to it, he just couldn't tell what it was. Frank sighed heavily and crossed his arms, leaning away from Kristin when she tried to touch him again. That's when Jamia showed up at the wrong time.

"Hey guys," she stopped beside Frank, "Sup, Frankie."

Frank's lip twitched, "Don't call me that."

Jamia took a step back and glanced around at everyone else. They all gave her a look of sympathy. Frank was convinced he was possessed. These people were his closest friends. He was supposed to be able to tell them anything. Jamia sat across from Frank and tried to talk to him, but Frank looked out the window, forever wishing to graduate tomorrow. His thoughts drifted off to what had happened before he got to campus. Gerard and Frank had shared the bag of cheetos, chatting here and there. Frank had noticed that Gerard slowly got more comfortable around Frank and gradually lost the whole 'smooth guy' way of talking. When Frank brought something up that Gerard found exciting, he didn't hold back his excitement. Frank liked it when he got excited because it showed that maybe not all priests aren't human.

"Hey! Earth to ET!" Someone snapped in his face.

Frank groaned and turned to Kristin, "What?"

"Tell us!"

He sighed, giving in, "I became the errand boy."

"Bitch, how!?" Christa exclaimed.

Frank laughed at her reaction, "It was a deal we made. And don't ask cause that's personal. He made me buy him cigarettes and he gave me a free pack. We shared my cheetos and talked. That's it."

They all seemed skeptical. Frank just shrugged. What he was telling was the truth. That's all they had done. He did cut out some of the questionable things Gerard had done or said, but he suspected that Gerard hadn't gotten proper conversation with a non-church-goer in a long time. Gerard was weird about personal space. One minute he wouldn't let Frank even come within two feet of him and the next minute he'd be complimenting his hair and running a hand through it. The hair incident wasn't that awkward or inappropriate as it seemed, actually. Frank had asked about hair because he liked what Gerard had done with his and asked for tips. Gerard had gotten up and run his hands through it, complementing some parts and giving constructive criticism about others. Apparently he had worked as a hair stylist for a few years.

"-I could just imagine it. Frank all sweaty and pushed against the wall as- what was his name?" Christa asked.

"Father Way. I looked it up online." Kristin responded.

"-as Father Way sucks on his-"

"Woah! What the fuck!? I tune you guys out and you're writing erotic stories about me and the priest!?" Frank's face got red very quick and his voice rose.

Everyone seemed to pause for a second, realizing that when Frank said it like that, it sounded a little bad. Kristin's hand was still on the paper, pencil in hand. Mikey was smirking, telling Christa what they should write next. Christa was studying Frank intensely, nodding to whatever Mikey was saying. Frank glared at him and tried not to think about what he had heard out of context. He wanted nothing to do with it and quite frankly, he was rather disgusted that his own friends would write that shit in front of him.

Frank discreetly looked over Mikey's shoulder to read a line or two from what they had already written down. He read the following: Father Way had been teasing him all day, so it was already a matter of time before he had Frank pushed against the wall. At this moment in time, he already had managed to remove half of Frank's clothing, and was making out with him furiously, Frank moving his hips so he could get some kind of friction.

Frank's face went bright red. He looked away, trying not to show it was obvious how the writing made him feel. He crossed his legs and leaned away from Mikey, gazing out the window. Kristin was enveloped in her writing as Christa whispered things to her with a smirk, obvious what she was saying was dirty. Mikey was busy admiring his girlfriend until he saw how Frank was acting. Frank's legs were closed tightly and his hands were in his lap, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Mikey tapped Kristin's arm to get her attention and she looked up, following Mikey's gaze to Frank. Christa burst out laughing.

Frank turned to her and glared, "I want you to burn that shit."

"Why, Frankie?" Kristin asked innocently.

"Just... burn it." His face grew redder.

Mikey's smile grew, "Frank, you read part of it didn't you?"

Christa became almost like Satan in that moment and leaned in close to Frank, "It gets worse, Frankie. We'll give you the final project."

Frank opened his mouth to say something but Kristin shushed him and put a finger to his lips, "You will read it."

She removed her hand and Frank let himself sigh sadly, "Fine."

...

Frank had just gotten off of school on a Friday afternoon and was genuinely excited to take a nap. He was surprised to see his dad in the living room, but the thing was, was why was he here alone while Mom was at work? Frank set his bag down carefully in the foyer and eyed his dad, wondering how to greet him. He hasn't seen his dad in months, what gave him the right to come in and make himself at home? Frank glared at his reflection as he decided how to greet him and get straight to the point.

"Um, what are you doing in my house?" Frank peeked around the corner.

"Hey, Frankie!"

"Frank is fine." He corrected.

His father's face fell, "Frank. Your mother and I talked and you're supposed to hang out with me today."

Frank made a disgusted face at that. His mother knew damn well how he felt about his father and how he wanted no part of him. If murder was legal, they'd have already had a funeral. And just as if on queue, the home phone rang. Frank ran to it, hoping it was something like one of his friends needed him for something important. He clutched the phone desperately and for the first time sighed happily when he heard who it was on the other side.

"Hello, is Frankie home?"

"Gerard-mother-fucking-Way I'm so glad to hear your voice." Frank smiled, talking quietly.

"Oh, well then. Are you in trouble, Frankie?" He asked, concern flooding his voice.

"My father," he sighed, "We don't get along."

"Well, you're in luck. I needed you to come over to help me set up for a women's group. Use that as an excuse, my boy."

Frank could feel the wink through the phone. He laughed slightly, twirling a piece of his hair between his fingers, "You are a lifesaver."

"I'll be expecting some gratitude when you show up." He teased.

"Thank you, really. Hold on," Frank turned to his dad, "I actually gotta do something else. Can we do it another time?"

"Uh, what do you have to do?" He eyed Frank skeptically.

"I'm kind of the errand runner for our church and they need help setting up the women's group. They'll be sad if I don't help out." He explained, forcing a sad look.

"I guess you shouldn't disappoint them. We can do it next Friday, alright?" His dad got off the couch and reached out to Frank, patting him on the shoulder before leaving his house. Frank made a mental note to bleach his shoulder later.

He let out a breath and put the phone back up to his ear, "You still there?"

"Yeah. Is he gone?" He asked hopefully.

"Thankfully." Frank sighed.

Gerard laughed, "I don't really have a women's group. I was going to ask if you and your friends wanted to come over and have dinner. I recently found a good deal on a roast."

Frank made a face to himself, "Will there be more than roast?"

"Of course. Mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables... all the good stuff. You don't eat meat?"

"Yeah, no I don't." Frank admitted, "But the rest sounds great. When should we show up?"

"Anytime you want, really. You can come early and help set up if you wish."

"I take that as a command?" Frank laughed, "Let me change from my uniform and I'll be over shortly."

"Oh, and Frank?"

"Hmm?"

"Mind picking up some cigs for me?"

"Didn't I already get you some?" Frank laughed, "Chain smoke 'em?"

"I had a stressful few days, Frankie. Help a man out."

Frank chuckled again and sighed, "You owe me one."

The smirk was evident in his voice, "I promise I'll make it up to you."

Frank rushed to his room and texted all his friends to meet him at the church in about an hour or so to have dinner with Gerard. He realized that it was probably the worst decision he had ever made, but he was too focused on how Gerard accidentally saved his ass. He slipped on a pair of his nicer black jeans and his The Clash shirt that he recently got. He looked at his reflection and for maybe the first time, he wasn't pleased with how he looked. He took his shirt off and thought for a moment before getting out a purple shirt that had black fabric on the hem, sleeves, and neck. He did another look at himself and decided that what he was wearing would do. He messed with his hair for a bit, going for a messy but nice look. He smiled and stood up straight, putting his wallet in his pocket. Frank drove to the gas station to pick up Gerard's cigs and proceeded to the church listening to his 'happy music' CD, which consisted of all his favorite songs from his favorite bands.

Frank opened the church door, surprised to see that Gerard wasn't in the sanctuary. He wandered some, waiting for him to show himself. He stared out a window for a bit and decided to sit at a random pew and close his eyes. He wasn't really praying, more like thinking deeply. He liked to do that sometimes. His thoughts were focused on what was before him at first, but switched mid thought sentence. Why didn't Gerard go outside, and when he did, why did he always have an umbrella? He tried to think of normal responses like he burned easily or had some really bad allergy. He decided to call it quits, and when he did, he jumped when he opened his eyes to see Gerard sitting right in front of him. He was wearing his priest's collar thing and a leather jacket, along with a pair of tight black jeans. He smiled when Frank's eyes met his.

"Hello, Frankie." he sang sweetly.

"H-hey." Frank responded, raking a hand through his hair.

Gerard hummed and adjusted his seating. He had his legs hanging over the edge and his hands on the edge of the pew, leaning forward. He swung his legs, smiling happily down at Frank. Frank noticed he was in a great mood for having just invited seven teenagers to dinner with him. He hated how he couldn't help but smile back when he met his gaze, so in the end, they were just smiling at each other in silence.

"So um," Frank coughed, breaking the eerie quietness, "I like your jacket."

"Thanks! I found it in the back of my closet. Forgot I had the thing," He said solemnly, tugging at the fabric, "It's seen better days, that's for sure, but I love the old thing."  
Frank smiled at his excitement over such a compliment. Gerard turned his attention back to Frank and smiled again. But Frank had other things on his mind than smiling, "Why do you never go outside?"

Gerard's smiled faded and his face went dark. He blended in with the shadows in a ghostly way that intimidated Frank profusely. He looked down at Frank with hollow eyes, "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know. It's not like I don't like doing things for you, actually it gives me a sense of need and responsibility, you know? I was just wondering cause you're so pale, not like that's a bad thing, I mean I'm pale, too! I'm surprised I still have a reflection. I'm pretty ghostly. That's off topic. What I'm trying to say is-"

Gerard chuckled, "You're rambling."

"Oh. Sorry." Frank ran another hand through his hair and sighed, "Do you burn easily or something?"

Gerard nodded, "Something like that."

A pause.

"I do go outside, Frank. It's just been sunnier lately and I can't risk getting burned. Plus, human interaction can sometimes be a chore, you get me?" He looked hopefully at Frank.

"Yeah, totally. I mean, most people are jerks. Even my best friends need to get off my back sometimes. Especially recently, ugh." Frank put his head in his hands and made a pained noise, realizing he had just invited Kristin; the queen of gay erotic fiction.

Gerard barely made a noise as he got off the pew and sat down next to Frank, a worried expression on his face, "What's wrong?"

"Well," Frank huffed, "I told them about you some and now they think- it's dumb, never mind. I don't wanna talk about it." He shook his head and stood up, "So, what am I helping with?"

Gerard made a noise, "Oh! I almost forgot. You can set the table while I tend to what's needed in the kitchen. I have some speakers if you want to hook up your iPod, or whatever, to them and play music." Gerard stared at Frank's horrified expression and laughed, "Don't worry! Play whatever you like. You'd be surprised with some of the things I like, Frankie. There's much you don't know."

Frank didn't know if he wanted to know.

Instead of asking anymore questions or making a fool of himself, he just nodded and went up to the speakers once Gerard told him where they were. He plugged in his iPod which was shoved into his jeans uncomfortably. Not the only thing shoved in there uncomfortably, he thought. He stopped in his tracks and sighed, moving his jeans awkwardly to readjust himself. He loved these black jeans, but they were getting a bit small. And small jeans made for awkward situations. He put it on shuffle and the first song that came on was, thankfully, Today by The Smashing Pumpkins. He was worried it would've played a dirty trick on him and played something by Britney Spears. His mom had borrowed his iPod when she was going on a trip and put songs on it, but it was just his luck that the laptop broke before he could take the songs off. Don't tell anyone, but he was maybe, just maybe, getting a little fond of the songs on there.

"Turn it up! I love this song!" Gerard shouted from the kitchen, making Frank laugh.

He turned it up and hoped that it wouldn't play anything embarrassing. He made his way over to the folded table and the box of, what he assumed, was silverware. A folded tablecloth was right next to the table. He smiled to himself, silently thanking Gerard that he got this out for him rather than Frank wandering around trying to find it himself. He unfolded the table and placed it in an empty spot that he assumed was where he was supposed to put the thing. He unfolded the tablecloth next and put it over the table, checking to see if the sides were even. The song changed to Drain You by Nirvana and he smiled as he tried his best to set out the silverware neatly. Gerard called out from the kitchen but Frank couldn't hear him.

"What?!"

"I said," Gerard was mysteriously behind Frank now, scaring the life out of him, "Did you get my cigs?"

Frank barked out a nervous laugh because Gerard was really fucking close to him and the look in his eyes intimidated Frank more than it should've, "Yeah, they're in the main part of my bag. It's over there."

Frank pointed to his red backpack and Gerard nodded, unzipping the main part and dug around for the cigs. Frank went about his business until the shuffling stopped suddenly and the song switched yet again. His iPod was more than used, so sometimes it skipped mid song. Frank, of course, didn't mind when the next song was Nervous Breakdown by Black Flag. Thankfully shuffle was behaving itself. Frank hummed along as he finished up. He turned to see Gerard staring at a piece of paper, hand over his mouth, and face bright red. The cigarettes were on the floor beside him.

Frank was curious, "What's-"

Frank looked at what he was holding. It was Kristin's handwriting. Shit. Frank went pale and his stomach grew sick. Gerard didn't even look at Frank or acknowledge him. He just stood there, eyes scanning the page feverishly. Frank was worried on how descriptive and detailed she had made it. Gerard made a small surprised sound and finally tore his eyes off the page to look at Frank, cheeks only growing redder. Frank swallowed.

"Did-did you write this?" He asked quietly.

Frank grew red, "No! My friend Kristin- she- she's a bitch! She shoved that fucking thing in my bag cause she- she fucking knew this would happen, that cunt!"

Frank yanked at his hair and Gerard watched him with wide eyes. He huffed and tore the paper from Gerard, sitting on the bottom step of the stage with a huff. The title of it was very blunt and he almost laughed out loud when he read it.

A Holy Fuck: Father Way x Frank  
Father Way had been teasing him all day, so it was already a matter of time before he had Frank pushed against the wall. At this moment in time, he already had managed to remove half of Frank's clothing, and was making out with him furiously, Frank moving his hips so he could get some kind of friction. Father Way bit down hard on his neck, earning a high pitched moan from Frank. The boy made a protest, saying it was only fair that Father Way removed his clothing also, but to no avail. He kept his clothes on his body, no matter how erect his cock was. He palmed Frank through his underwear and Frank grunted, sighing dreamily at the pleasure shooting through his body. Finally, the priest unbuttoned his pants and slid them to his knees, revealing a large outline of his dick. Frank looked at him hungrily. He ordered Frank to his knees and Frank did so, looking up at him with eager eyes. After getting permission, Frank yanked down his boxers, exposing his length. Frank tried not to stare, so he just took the priest into his mouth and watched as his face contorted in pleasure. He swirled his tongue at his tip and moaned, causing Father Way to buck his hips up. Frank took him in to his ability and used his other hand to stroke the rest. Father Way's hands were entangled in his locks as he was practically screaming from how amazing Frank felt around him. Frank dug his tongue into the slit and wasn't surprised when Father Way came into his mouth with a breathy, but loud, moan. Frank's cock was throbbing. Thankfully, Father Way seemed to notice, so he stuck his hand down his underwear, stroking him gently before pumping him at a high speed. Frank was cumming into his hand within seconds.

Frank bit his lip and stared at Gerard who had the same expression as him. And as if on queue, his friends came bounding into the church, eyes locked on Frank and Gerard. Kristin laughed when she saw the paper in Frank's hands and Christa mumbled something to Mikey, smirking. Gerard cleared his throat and straightened himself out, greeting them kindly before telling them to sit down while he and Frank brought out the meal. Frank looked at the lot of them and flipped them off. Ray and James had nothing to do with it, but he still flipped them off. He followed Gerard into the kitchen and tried to remove the images from his mind. He ran into Gerard because he wasn't paying a lick of attention to his surroundings. The contact was brief before Frank pulled away quickly, still in shock.

"Which one is Kristin?"

"The blonde."

"Good to know." He said tightly, turning away from Frank to pick up a platter and nod to the one Frank was to take out.

He followed Gerard feeling as helpless and as hopeless as ever. He really wanted to crawl in a ball of shame and cry or maybe even disappear for that matter. He just wanted to be anywhere but here. He wouldn't have minded being here if it was just Frank and Gerard hanging out, but now that Gerard read that fucking story, that would just make matters worse. He just wish he could go back in time and rip that paper to shreds or stop Kristin's parents from making her. He shook his head. No matter how much he hated Kristin in the moment, he knew how amazing she treated Mikey and wouldn't trade that for the world. Mikey was like a brother to Frank. Well... a brother you could kiss legally. Frank made a face to himself and wiped his mind clean of that thought process.

Frank ran into Gerard full on this time and almost dropped his platter, but thankfully he steadied himself on Gerard's shoulder. He followed the guy's gaze and found that his eyes were locked firmly on Mikey. Frank didn't know why, but he saw a flicker in Gerard's eyes that looked like sadness and what he assumed was longing.

"Mikey?" Gerard said quietly, his voice breaking.

Mikey's face went pale, as if he had done something wrong. He sat up in his chair and studied Gerard's face to see if he could recognize him. Gerard set the platter down on the table and walked over to Mikey. Mikey stood up, unsure of how to act. Gerard was fairly shorter than Mikey, but he still loomed. The shadows on his face deepened, as did the sadness of his expression.

Gerard jumped from his trance and shook his head, "I- I'm so sorry. You just- you look a lot like someone I was very close with."

Mikey coughed, "Mind if I ask who?"

"My younger brother." He said quietly, sorrow dripping from his voice.

Gerard burst into tears and everyone stood up, looking at Frank expectantly. Frank glared at them all and put an arm around the man's shoulders, leading him to his office, cooing words of comfort to him, trying desperately for him to stop crying. He closed the door behind them and Gerard wrapped his arms around Frank, hugging him tightly. Frank sighed and hugged back, patting his back in what he hoped was a soothing and rhythmic matter. Gerard was full on sobbing down, his cries muffled on Frank's shoulder. It broke Frank's heart. Even if they weren't the best of friends, he hated when people cried and he couldn't help them stop. But he felt as if Gerard needed to cry. And that's what Frank was here for.

His grip tightened on Frank for a second while he choked out, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." Frank responded and hugged him tightly, closing his eyes, "You did nothing wrong."

"But I did!" He sobbed, "I didn't save my brother- I could've- shouldn't have listened to him- I should've just- he would be alive if I had just- ah!" He huffed angrily and pulled away from Frank, still leaning slightly towards him. Gerard took hold of Frank's wrist in a gentle manner, "Thank you. I'll explain one day."

"Take your time, really. You don't have to tell me anything." Frank smiled sweetly.

Gerard smiled back, face blotchy and red. He wiped his eyes and sighed, "I made a huge scene. Ugh, could this night get any worse?"

"We haven't had any dinner yet. It'll probably get worse."

Gerard stopped for a second and then his face twisted into a deep and mischievous smirk, "Wanna turn the tables and make this the worst night for them?"

Frank nodded without hesitation, "Where the fuck have you been all my life? Hell yes!"

Gerard and Frank laughed and paraded out of the office, feigning normalcy. Kristin eyed them suspiciously but looked down at her lap when Gerard met her gaze and lifted a questioning brow. Frank choked on the water he was drinking when Gerard announced what he said next.  
"Which one of you wrote A Holy Fuck?"

Kristin, Christa, and Mikey hesitantly made some sort of gesture. Gerard nodded thoughtfully, "I will say it was well written. But I will give some pointers. First off, men don't usually cum that fast, Mikey, I'm sure you would know, being a teenage boy yourself. Second of all, fucking against a wall is my least favorite position, please take the two parties into consideration. Third, the part where I, excuse me Frank, but the part where I jerk him off needs to be completely rewritten. If I were to do that to another male, I would certainly use some sort of lubrication such as lotion or lube itself. Along with that, jerking off in your underwear is a difficult and messy task, so if we're being realistic, I probably would've just taken them off of him. Well, in the story that is."

Everyone was either bright red, pale, or just plain confused. Frank was laughing his ass off, hitting the table. Gerard joined him and hollered into his hands, face turning a happy shade of pink. Gerard took a seat next to Frank and everyone stared at him. Frank simply shrugged and smiled, turning his attention back to Gerard.

"Anything you'd like to add, Frankie?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Frank said, getting passionate, "Why the fuck am I the bottom!? Like my god, Mikey, we've been friends for so damn long, you could've at least corrected your girlfriend instead of making out with her!"

Mikey shrugged and mumbled something. Kristin glared at him. Frank smiled. Gerard asked everyone their names and asked them to share something about themselves and Frank laughed at the familiarity of it all. It was just like the first day of school. He almost asked Frank for his name and Frank laughed, saying that he had never met Gerard before. At least his dumb accent got a snicker from Gerard. James seemed to be comfortable with the whole situation, but eventually asked Christa, who was in between Ray and James, about the story and she reluctantly explained it to him. He just laughed at it, finally getting the whole scene Gerard and Frank had made.

Frank kept thanking Gerard for the food because he couldn't quite thank him enough. The food was amazing. He had even asked Gerard at one point how he made of it, but Gerard tutted and told him it was a secret family recipe. Frank expressed how that wasn't even close to fair and Gerard had laughed at him, choking on his amber liquid. Frank thought it was some kind of whiskey at first, but decided not to pay much attention to it.

"So um, how are you still a priest?" Christa asked.

Gerard choked again, "Excuse me?"

"Well, from my knowledge, they aren't allowed to drink or smoke. I've seen you do both. And the way you talk about sex is like you're experienced in the matter."

"Honey," he started, rolling his eyes a bit as he set down his cup, "I'm not the priest of this church, more or less. I own the place, but I'm the assistant. The guy who stands at that blasted wooden podium doesn't drink, smoke, or have sex. I'm not that guy."

The room fell silent except for the quiet giggles coming from Frank. He was getting a kick out of it. He bit his lip, trying not to burst out into laughter. He stared at Gerard, waiting for his next move.

"So that means you've...?"

He laughed, "Its human nature! Imagine how horrible it would be to never be able to get off! I couldn't imagine it."

James asked the next question, "So that's not a bad thing?"

"Heavens, no!" Gerard laughed harder, "Fuck what those Catholic mothers say, that stuff is amazing and completely healthy. Jerk off all you want, my horny children."

Frank couldn't keep it in anymore and burst out laughing. Everyone laughed sort of nervously and the girls just looked horrified. Frank heard some of the girls say rude things about him as they all cleaned up their messes and he almost shouted at them, but apparently Gerard had heard them as well because he looked rather furious. He had seen Gerard angry before, but that was more of a looming angry. This one looked like murderous rage.

"I am not a pedophile!" He yelled at Kristin, butter knife clutched tightly in his left hand, "Even if I was, I wouldn't be interested in your sorry ass. Oh, and the best part is, is that Frank has informed me that all of you are of age, so that insult doesn't even make any sense in this scenario! I've had it up to here with your snide comments and insults! Get. Out. Of. My. Church."

Frank stared at Gerard with a hidden fear and respect. His friends looked at him for help but he just shook his head and made a gesture for them to leave. They practically ran out the church doors. Frank was scared of Gerard for the first time in his life. He took a step away from him and cowered, wishing he could calm him down. He saw Gerard hold up his left arm and chuck the knife at the wall, the knife sticking. Frank's face went deathly pale. He squeaked.

Gerard snapped from his daze and looked at Frank, fear glazing over his own eyes, "Frankie, I-"

He tried to touch Frank but Frank jumped and shook his head. Gerard reeled back and the shadows took over him. He looked so sad and hurt. He never meant to scare Frank like this. Never. If anything he wanted Frank to respect him and maybe even care for him. But not fear. He hated fear. Frank let a scared tear fall from his eyes. He didn't wipe it away.

"Please, Frank-" He paused, reaching out again, "Please... I never meant- they just- you saw what they did! Ungrateful teenagers didn't even thank me for feeding them! I gave them advice, a seat, food, and even made them laugh! And what do they do!? Call me names, insult me and this godforsaken church! I've owned this place longer than they've been alive and they just have to go and ruin it! Every new generation I see, heat bubbles my blood and I'm about to explode!" He started yelling and looked at Frank, calming down a bit. He grabbed one of Frank's hands and smiled, "But you... you aren't like them. You're collected and smug but in the best of ways. You're rebellious but respectable. You're a leader and they're followers. Frank, you're one the best things I've seen in a long time. A sight for sore eyes. A friend."

He nodded in response while Gerard put Frank's hand to his cheek, "Promise you'll never be like them."

"I-I promise."

 


	5. Chapter 5

It was time for church yet again and was Frank upset by this? No, in fact, he was a little excited. But he wouldn't admit that quite yet. Gerard had promised to ditch mass with him and go out somewhere. Frank's skin tingled at the surprise. He felt so nervous, however, to the point of not even being able to eat breakfast. He hoped Gerard's surprise involved the coffee shop a few blocks from the church because he could go for a French pastry and a cup of joe. Frank's mother looked at him suspiciously as they walked into the church and had even questioned him, but he simply said he was to help Gerard and that he would meet her after mass. She nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the temple before shooing him off.

Today Frank was wearing more casual clothes. He wore a band shirt, flannel, a green camo jacket, a pair of black jeans, and red Chuck Taylor's. He felt proud of the way he looked today and walked with a lot of confidence to Gerard's study, only swaying just a bit, smiling to himself. He knocked on the door and waited for Gerard to open it. He didn't do so immediately, so Frank was about to knock again. To his surprise, Gerard opened it, grabbing Frank's wrist and pulling him inside quickly. Frank laughed when Gerard had pulled him in because it reminded him of all the old cartoons he used to watch. Frank did check out what Gerard was dressed in, which happened to be a deep red shirt and a leather jacket. Frank automatically approved of his fashion choice. Gerard opened his arms and gave Frank a hug, both of them squeezing the other tightly.

"Ugh, I'm so sorry I didn't see you much at all last week! I was on a trip to Maine to visit an old friend of mine." Gerard explained, sitting down in his office chair, "I saw you a total of once and that was when I asked you to help me pack and say goodbye."

"Don't feel bad! I don't need that much attention, I promise. But I will say it's good to see you again." Frank smiled, speaking truthfully, "So where are we- oh!"

Gerard had grabbed Frank's wrist and yanked him towards the window, a smile plastered onto his face. Frank studied him and realized he was looking at the sky. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Gerard held up a hand.

"Watch this!" Gerard snapped and the sky grew dark, rain starting to pour from the sky.

"How did you do that?!" Frank laughed, smiling.

"I have a sixth sense, Frankie. I just know when it's gonna come." He smiled, giving Frank a glance from the side.

They watched the rain for a bit until it was obvious that mass had started. Frank had almost fallen asleep, which should really be a compliment to Gerard because he never slept somewhere he didn't feel safe. Gerard on the other hand didn't take it that way, so he shook Frank, pulling him to his feet. Frank woke up immediately when he saw how excited Gerard looked. It was childish and rather comforting.

"I thought you didn't go outside?" Frank said, easing out the window, "And why couldn't we have just gone through the doors?"

"It's cloudy today so I'm good. And that would disrupt mass and possibly make me hated in the community. And this way is more fun on my part. It's a great view, watching you struggle."

Frank laughed, "You're a sadist. A little help?"

"Just a little longer..."

"Gerard!"

"Fine!" He huffed sarcastically.

Just to piss Gerard off, he lunged at him when he came over to help Frank out the window. He wrapped his arms around his neck and pushed off, throwing Gerard off balance. He almost fell on his ass, but Frank pulled him to safety. He laughed as Gerard started to scold him and tell him how his life flashed before his eyes. He also said something about Carrie, but Frank wasn't really paying attention until Gerard stopped talking mid sentence, hand frozen mid gesture. Frank studied his facial expression to see, well, he didn't know.

"Gerard...?" He approached him carefully.

"Sorry, I almost spilled something personal." He raked a hand through his now wet hair.

Frank wiped his hair from his eyes and smiled, "Don't worry! I tuned you out after you said something about how your life was like a weird version of Carrie. Good movie, by the way. One of my fav classic horror movies."

"Yes! My goodness that movie was like the only thing I would watch for at least three years. I did get caught watching it in the church and some lady, who thankfully is dead now, thought I, such a holy man, was watching porn. Goddamn shower scene turned her ears red." He waved that away, "Have you ever gender switched the movie in your head? It's quite interesting."

"Oh?" Frank inquired.

"Yeah, but instead of a period, I think that male Carrie would get his first erection and so on. His mother would stay a woman though. I think changing her gender would just be weird. Doesn't fit her. And with the whole Prom thing, I think that making a woman to go with him just seems odd, so I would-"

"You're telling me that you'd make male Carrie gay?" Frank eyed him.

"It's perfectly logical!" He scoffed, "Why else would he just randomly get an erection in the shower!? His attractive classmates covered in water and steam and bubbles... it's a gay man's perfect fantasy! If I were to direct the gender switched version, I would make his classmates throw tissues at him and chant phrases about jerking off. Maybe throw in some slurs for effect. Don't give me that look, it makes perfect sense!"

Frank crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow at Gerard, "Water, steam, and bubbles. That dreamy sigh... If I knew any better, I'd suspect it's your fantasy."

Gerard grew pink, "Hey! That's not even close to fair! We all get curious! Don't even tell me you haven't been curious before. I've seen you check people out. It's quite obvious."

Frank scoffed, "Yeah, I've been curious! Want me to work on being subtle for you? Anyway! It's like a teenage milestone! But it seems as if your milestone hasn't been passed fully yet."

"I am an adult. I have every right to still be curious."

"You seem to be awful curious about my ass in my favorite pair of red jeans."

"You saw?!" His eyes went wide.

"Oh yes," Frank laughed, nodding, "I saw."

Gerard groaned and the laughed to himself, lifting up a hand palm to the sky, "Here we are arguing about sexuality in a catholic church parking lot in the pouring rain. I say we get out of here before some old lady overhears us and tries to exorcise us, yeah?"

"Agreed." Frank giggled.

"Wonderful." Gerard smirked, grabbing Frank's wrist and running.

Frank tried to keep up to the best of his ability, laughing giddily. Gerard was laughing too and it reminded Frank of a movie scene; two friends running through the rain, laughing wildly. Frank's smile grew. He felt content and happy, his wrist sliding from Gerard's grip because of the rain. Frank dodged a telephone pole and growled a warning at Gerard, who merely looked back at him, smiling. They almost ran into a group of people, and during so, Gerard's grip had loosened and tightened around Frank's hand. He didn't mind. His wrist was more sensitive than his hands. His hands, unlike his wrists, had been put through many years of playing guitar in his mother's basement, so they were tough and calloused. Frank liked to think he was tough, but the only thing tough about him was his dry, beat up hands. The rest was sensitive, inside and out.

"Here we are!" Gerard said, busting through the coffee shop doors.

Frank sighed in relief, letting go of Gerard's hand. He looked over at him and smiled, bumping him playfully, "I almost ran into a pole!"

"Yeah, but it was worth it! That was the most fun I've had in 100 years, give or take."

Frank snorted, "Drama queen."

Gerard rolled his eyes and walked in with Frank, his shoulder bumping him every so often. Frank nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone behind them squeal excitedly. Gerard and him whipped around to see larger girl with black hair and tan skin. Frank suspected she was foreign when she spoke to Gerard. She took him in for a bone crushing hug and kissed his cheek, smiling. She babbled about how cute he was and how he should've came to visit her sooner. He blushed vividly and ran a hand through his hair. Frank stood there stupidly, his mouth agape and jealousy in his eyes.

"Sophie, I didn't come to catch up, actually, I came here with a friend." He grabbed Frank's sleeve and pulled him closer.   
Frank practically latched to Gerard's side. The woman was intimidating and taller than Frank. She looked him up and down. Gerard shrugged when she lifted an eyebrow at him. She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Who's this friend, then, Gee?"

"This is Frank."

"Hello." he squeaked.

She laughed, touching Frank's shoulder. He wondered if she was even real because her hands were bigger than his shoulders. He jumped when she had touched them and his hand instinctively grabbed Gerard's wrist. Gerard looked at Frank and chuckled. Frank glared at him. He didn't think this was in anyway funny.

"Nice to meet you, son. Kelly will get you settled with drinks. I better see you again sometime soon, Gee, or we will have a talk. Make sure to come alone though, no offense to Mr. Frank over here, but there are some things I need to discuss with you privately." She looked at Gerard in a way that made Frank curious.

What secrets did Gerard have?

He shook away his thoughts and eventually was pulled away from her. He sighed in relief, "Um, so, what was that?"

He chuckled, "An old friend."

"No offense or anything, but I don't like her. She makes me nervous."

"The word you are looking for is anxious, trust me, I know. Sophie's more of an acquired taste. You won't have to face her a lot, I'm sure."

Frank swayed nervously, "You can talk to her now, if you want. I'll just chill out here and read some tabloids or something. I shouldn't disrupt that bond or whatever."

"You sure, Frankie?" He looked hesitant.

Frank smiled, "Yeah, go on. I'll just sit here."

He sat down on a red leather couch next to Sophie's office. Gerard patted his shoulder and told him he wouldn't be long. Frank just swatted him away and teased him, picking up a magazine that had some punk guy with a Harley. Frank tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation, he really did, but as always, his curiosity got the better of him. He didn't catch everything they talked about, due to the loud sounds of the coffee grinder, but he heard some things out of context that frightened him a bit.

"So you really went up to Maine just to-" It was Sophie, "-how many years have you been hungry?"

"At least 56." Gerard.  
"56!?" A pause, "How're you alive?"

"I'm-" that damn grinder, "But I just really like him, okay, Ma?"

"Don't 'okay, ma' me!" She was getting loud but Gerard hushed her, "Does he know?"

"No." He sounded angry- or perhaps his sadness was just said angrily, "How would I even tell-"

Frank's jaw tightened when the steamer screeched violently. What the fuck are they talking about? He thought, 56 years? He must be exaggerating.

"So I just let him find out? What if he never does? He's quite oblivious, the kid. Doesn't even know I'm g-"

More noise.

"That, you can tell him. If he likes you as much as you tell me, I'm sure he's fine."

"But I don't want to put off the wrong-"

"Listen here, BS." BS? "Tell him or don't tell him. Choose."

"Don't tell him." Gerard sighed loudly.

"Good."

And then the office door opened, a solemn Gerard sitting next to Frank and asking about one of the motorcycle models on the page he was staring at.

...

Frank passed a reflective window and laughed. He looked soaked. He was soaked. Soaked, pale, and a bit cold. He had a feeling this wouldn't be fun the next day when he woke up sick, but he didn't care. He was having fun with Gerard. They were walking down the sidewalk, stopping here and there to look inside shops. Frank had teased Gerard about looking at a comic book store but they had both gone in and used a total of 35 dollars on their findings. He had another feeling that his mother wouldn't be happy about spending so much on 'frivolous things'. He didn't really care at this point. His mom had a fit over the color shirt he wore to church the other day.

"What's so funny?"

"I look like a sad vampire."

Gerard froze, "Why do you say that? You look kinda like a badass to me. Your hair all wet and-"

"And steamy." Frank moaned, shoving Gerard playfully.

Gerard shoved him back, a little harder than he meant to, causing Frank to reach out to Gerard before he fell. He caught himself on Gerard's shoulder, taking him by surprise. Frank grunted when his back hit the side of a brick building, Gerard pinning him awkwardly. It was an accident, but Frank found it rather amusing. The ending result was Frank pinned against the wall, wet hair in his face, staring up at an equally soaked Gerard who was more than pale. He smirked.

"I knew it was your kink."

"Yeah well I made that painfully obvious." Gerard sighed.

"Hey, I'll make it even. I'm a masochist." Frank offered a crooked smile.

Gerard blushed, "Like... pain? How did you even find that out?"

It was Frank's turn to blush now, "Some, uh, guys in the gym class hated me so they shoved me around and stuff but I, um, you know. Thought it was nice? Fuck this is awkward."

"I guess it would be," Gerard stepped away, unpinning him, "With me pushing you up against a wall and all..."

"Nice rhyme." Frank smiled, yanking his shirt down.

"I've done my fair share of rhyming. I was the 'gifted child' or as my teacher liked to put it 'a smart ass'. I was in love with classic poetry. I wrote my own and the teachers loved it. You ever write poetry?" Gerard tried to hopelessly change the subject as they continued down the alleyway, walking farther apart than they had before.

Nice job, Frank thought, You made it awkward.

"Yeah. I'm more of a song kind of guy though. Like yeah I'll read Poe for school, he's a pretty rad writer, but I like rhythm you feel with a kick drum, you know?"

Gerard nodded, "Yes, I do. So do you play drums yourself?"

"Eh, I'm pretty okay. I'm more of a guitarist. I can play other instruments, don't get me wrong, but I'm just more of a strings kind of guy." Frank hummed in thought, "So you like The Smashing Pumpkins, huh? I never did ask you about that."

"Yes, yes I do. Wonderful band. Lovely members. Some used to say I looked like Billy Corgan's son. A very pale and slightly off son. But man they rock. I went to a few early concerts, myself."

"Damn. How old are you?" Frank eyed him suspiciously.

Gerard laughed harder than he should've, "I'm the ripe old age of... of 26."

"26? You look younger to me. When we first met I thought you were 20 at the least. Very young." Frank added on, "For a priest, that is."

He sighed and looked at Frank longingly, "Sometimes the youngest people see the most shit, you know? I've seen things I wish I could unsee."

"I've seen some nasty shit, too. What've you seen?" Frank looked at Gerard with a sad look.

Frank, himself, had seen his own grandfather die and his mother beaten by his father to unconsciousness. He had a past, oh, and a past he wish he could forget. Frank had seen some vulnerable parts of Gerard but the look in his eyes seemed so sad and vacant, almost like he was having an episode. What if Gerard had been in a war? Or been to a place of war? He shook that thought away. He was too young to have gone into war anytime soon. There was no major war. The war on terrorism was still kind of going but it wasn't as in full swing as it used to. He wondered what Gerard had seen and became worried when he didn't answer right away.

"What I've seen?" He said flatly, "I've seen a lot. Death, mostly."

"I've seen that, too." Frank sighed sympathetically, bumping him as some sort of sad bonding gesture, "My grandfather."

"My brother." Gerard responded, smiling when Frank had previously touched his shoulder.

"Fuck, dude, I'm so sorry." Frank couldn't help it. He felt horrible, "When you were crying... oh shit I'm so sorry. Was it recent?"  
Gerard shook his head, "No it was many, many years ago. It feels as if it were yesterday, though. He was such a handsome boy. You would've liked him, I'm sure. He looked exactly like your friend. Same name and everything. If I was crazy, I would've believed it's him. But that's not possible. I saw him leave with my own eyes. Come to think of it... I knew someone who looked a lot like you."

Frank's interest peaked when he mentioned this, "Oh?"

"Yes, but his name was Francis. He was from Italy and he was a charming man, really. It only made sense for me to fall head over heels in love with him." Gerard sighed dreamily, making Frank laugh, "He took me out to beautiful authentic Italian restaurants and even cooked for me once. We worked together and bonded over that. I was convinced I would marry him until... well until that relationship came to a close. He passed away, as well. But I remember his embrace as if he were here with me now. He was gorgeous, absolutely stunning."

"Thank you."

Gerard laughed, "Oh shut it!"

"It's okay, I know I'm gorgeous." Frank did a hair flip, smirking.

"You have a lot of self esteem for someone your age. I usually find 18 year olds sobbing over a mirror cause they can't look like Adam Levine or Kim Kardashian. It gets annoying if we're honest." He rolled his eyes and Frank laughed.

"Yeah, I'm just happy in my own skin, you know?" Frank looked over at Gerard hopefully.

"I don't know exactly, but I'm getting there."

"That's a start!" Frank smiled, bumping shoulders with Gerard.

 


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey Frank? It's Jamia. Some friends and I are gonna get fucked up later, wanna come? I know you weren't at school, but I was just wondering. Call me back when you can, bye."

Frank groaned when he sat up. He had a headache. Being out in the rain with Gerard seemed like an amazing idea at the time and now, not so much. He had a runny nose and a cough. He sounded like darth vader when he breathed. Was he going to turn down this offer of drunkenness? No. He wanted to be drunk. He didn't know why, but he really, really wanted to forget things that kept clouding his mind. At the top of the list is when Gerard had pinned Frank to a wall and Frank's heart did a thing. It was beated faster. Not like a nervous faster but more of a 'wow this is kinda nice' faster. But his heart had done the same thing when the boys at school had shoved him against lockers and pinned him to the floor. And he hated them. He was also a teenager, so things like this were common, right? Yes. Yes they were. He had googled it after taking some painkillers and chugging half a bottle of water. It had also struck Frank that he had admitted to being curious about boys and Gerard had said he was convinced he would marry some Italian guy. Maybe Gerard and him were in the same rickety boat.

"Uh, hey, Jamia. It's Frank calling back. I'll come. Same place as last time?"

"Yeah. Same place." She paused, "You okay?"

"Yeah just a cold but I need some beer."

She giggled, "I feel you. Mikey volunteered to be everyone's DD. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

And then they hung up.

And just as Frank took his shirt off to take a shower, his phone rang again, "Hello?"

"Frankie! You sound sick, are you okay?"

"I'm literally fine, Gerard. Just about to take a shower." He paused, "I'm gonna get all wet and steamy."

"I really hate you sometimes, you know that? That's a terrifying mental image."

"It's a wonderful mental image, thank you very much." He laughed, "Anyway, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you just wanted to come over and hang out?" He sounded hesitant, "I also need someone to help me clean out the attic."

"There it is." Frank chuckled, "I'm sorry, Gerard, but I already made plans. Another time, yeah?"

"Oh. Yes. Sure. Um, have fun."

"Hey, Gerard? I'm not blowing you off, I promise. One of my friends called before you called. I'm sorry, really." Frank tried his best to sound sincere.

Gerard sighed, "Well, I've got priest things to do like drink before noon. Have fun getting wet and steamy."

Frank laughed, "I will. Bye, Gerard."

"Bye."

...

"What's the update with the priest, aye Frank?" Kristin nudged him playfully.

"I ditched him to get wasted with you fucks in the cemetery." Frank grumbled.

He was really starting to hate Kristin. He smirked when he remembered something. Kristin made a face, "What?"

"Should you even be going? I mean, you are pregnant after all." Frank's chest bubbled with malice.

She grabbed his shirt and suddenly he realized how much stronger and not to mention taller she was compared to him. Fear glazed over his eyes. Her eyes burned with hellfire. He squeaked, "Who. Fucking. Told. You."

"Mikey!" He gasped.

She let him go, "Son of a bitch! I told him not to tell anyone!"

"He's like my brother, Kris! Why wouldn't he tell me?"

It was her turn to smirk, "Isn't that illegal? Kissing your brother?"

Frank shoved her against a mausoleum, a fury exploding from him. A fury he didn't know he had. He growled lowly and she cowered, "How do you know about this?"

She laughed, "Your gay ass can go fuck itself. I know you've tried to get with him. He doesn't know that I know. But if you decide to fuck with me, I'll tell everyone how big of a faggot you are."

"You wouldn't."

"First I'll tell the priest and then I'll shout it from the school's PA. Like the sound of that?"

Frank pressed her shoulder roughly against the side of the mausoleum, "I'll tell your parents you're expecting."

"You nasty gay ass faggot of a-"

"Kristin!"

Frank was shoved to the ground roughly. He made a pained sound and looked up to see Mikey cradling a terrified Kristin. As if on queue, she cried into his shoulder, mumbling things Frank knew to be not true. His stomach fell when Mikey twisted to get a look at Frank. He felt like crying himself. But he couldn't do that. He had to keep pretending he was doing okay and to keep up this game of 'I'm straight, I swear'. The only person who knew otherwise was Gerard. What if he went crying to Gerard? Would he understand? Would he take him in and care for him or listen to what he had to say? He stood up, the shadows on his face darkening.

"Let's get drunk." He said quietly, "I don't want to remember any of this."

Jamia came up behind Frank, almost stumbling over a headstone, holding a case of beer and an electric lamp in one hand. She looked at the situation but decided not to comment on it, instead she just tossed Frank a beer and he took it gratefully, practically chugging the thing. Ray and the others came next, all in one car. They all greeted each other and went straight to the point. There was haphazard dancing from the girls, music coming from a crappy portable radio Ray bought at the corner store. Jamia was flirting with James most of the time and Frank was glad. He really didn't want to do something he regretted. She was a sweet girl and he didn't want to ruin her. He'd ruined everyone else so far. He tried to interact with everyone but failed. He was too drunk. He had chugged maybe ten beers by now. He was fading in and out of consciousness.

"I've given up!" He heard Ray cry, "You need to get away!"

He heard some slurred responses from everyone else, telling Ray he was a gift to the entire world. Frank said something that had made Ray cry, "You're like a brother to me. Without you, I probably would've killed myself by now."

And it was true. Frank had been having a rough time lately and Ray was always there to pick him up and give him reasons to keep going. Tell him he loved him and that he would do anything for him. Even if it meant sacrificing himself for him. Frank loved Ray so much. He didn't know what he would do without him.

He didn't know what he would do without Gerard either. He had been there when his friends started turning on him. He had been there for Gerard when he broke down that one day. He didn't want to say it out loud, but he loved Gerard in a sense. He felt safe around him. He felt at home. He didn't know why he still sticked around these guys. He didn't feel safe around them or at home. He felt exposed and closed off. Before he knew it, he was crying, sitting on the opposite side of the mausoleum, beer in hand. His sobs were loud and raw, the sound unfamiliar to him. He felt weak and open, as if he were in front of God on judgement day. He cried harder, reaching out to the sky.

"Take me, take me, take me, take me, take me, god, please, take me, please." He chanted between sobs, hopelessly crying out to the night sky.

He was falling out of consciousness, sobbing, listening to the chaos on the other side of the mausoleum. There was a bright light, a familiar light, and some drunken yelling. The scurrying of feet was the last thing he heard before the beer bottle rolled out of his hand, his head lolling to one side, unconscious. He knew what was to come. He had heard it a million times. He would lay at the feet of the holy one, begging for forgiveness. He would be dead. The thought seemed comforting. It was better than this. He hated this. He hated not being himself and he hated being so sad and he hated most of all his friends. They weren't friends. Gerard was his friend.

...

He awoke to a pounding headache and tear dried cheeks. He hurt everywhere. He tried to sit up but was promptly pushed back down by the ache in his bones. He grunted and tried to study his surroundings the best he could. He was lying on a soft cot with a wool blanket over top of him. He slid one leg out from under the green blanket. He peeked under the covers to see that he was wearing a black tank top and a pair of grey sweatpants. These weren't his clothes. This wasn't his bed. He had no idea where he was. Panic started to settle in then until the door to the room opened and Gerard appeared before him.

He wore a similar outfit but he was holding a glass of water and some pain killers. He sat next to Frank on the bed, smiling sadly. He didn't talk to Frank but he gave him the pills and water. Frank was so weak that Gerard had to hold the glass for him. It was sweet, but Frank was too embarrassed by his lack of strength to notice that in the moment. He left the room for maybe two seconds before returning with a bowl and a rag. He sat back down next to Frank and pulled a thermometer out of his pocket, handing it to Frank after he turned it on. It beeped loudly and Gerard frowned at it, turning it back to Frank so he could see. He had a fever of 101. Gerard had a permanent look of sadness on his face as he worked. He put away the thermometer and wet the rag in the bowl, squeezing out the extra water before putting the cool rag over Frank's forehead. He sighed thankfully when the cold rag touched his skin. He was burning. It wasn't too long before the rag got hot again, and as if Gerard could read his mind, he got the rag cold again, but Frank grabbed Gerard's wrist, face turning pale.

Frank bolted up and rushed to the bathroom. Thankfully he knew where that was in the church. Gerard was by his side the entire time he threw up last night's regrets. He hated drinking. He hated it so much he couldn't stop. His gut hurt the entire time he wretched over that damn porcelain toilet. Gerard's hand was on his back while he did so, drawing circles with his fingers. His other hand was in Frank's, allowing Frank to hold onto him for dear life, panting over the bowl. Gerard handed him the rag and he took it, cleaning himself up. He looked back at Gerard and cried when their eyes met. He was a wreck. They hadn't spoken a word to each other and here was Frank, sobbing into his shoulder. It didn't last long, though. Frank was done almost as fast as he had started. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, Gerard's hand squeezing his reassuringly.

Gerard guided him back to his cot, making sure to get a clean rag to put over Frank's forehead. Frank thanked him with a raspy voice and Gerard smiled, patting his arm. Frank scooted over, opening a spot for Gerard to join him. He patted the bed a couple of times, making Gerard chuckle to himself before climbing in next to him. Frank rested his head on Gerard's cold shoulder. In fact, Gerard was as cold as ice. He stole that cold from him, pressing his body as close to him as he could without making it seem he was coming onto him.

"Why are you doing this?" Frank whispered.

"Cause no one else seems to know how to care for you. It was time I stepped in."

"My mom?"

Gerard sighed, "I called her and told her you'll be with me for the next day or two because you're too sick to move. I'm assuming my statement is correct?"

Frank nodded, "Thank you."

Gerard nodded and put his head on top of Frank's, "I found you unconscious by the mausoleum. Your friends didn't even try to save you. They just left you there. I went out there because I heard someone crying out to the sky and my first thought was 'it couldn't be him', but sure enough, it was you. You sounded so sad. So broken. All I could hear was 'take me'. I'm so sorry, Frank. I'm so sorry."

"I am broken."

"I know." Gerard wrapped an arm around him, "Do you want to...?"

"Yeah." Frank said, adjusting himself to the new position, "They aren't my friends. Kristin, that witch, she knows about things she shouldn't and she threatened to tell you and everyone in the school all because I knew she was pregnant. Mikey told me because he trusted me. I don't trust anyone enough to tell them my thing. But you're my friend. I feel safe around you, like I could tell you anything and you'd understand. Yeah, you're young, but I've seen it in your eyes. You have this unspoken wisdom. Gerard, I just- I don't know..."

He rubbed Frank's arm soothingly, "I don't like them either. Kristin, especially. If you don't mind me asking, what thing?"

"Sexuality." He replied shortly.

"Oh, Frank," he sighed, "All I can say is that I'm sorry. I really wish I could protect you from them. They seem like awful people."

Frank laughed, "They are."

"Anything else you want to talk about?"

"No. I just wanna sleep."

"Want me to go?" Gerard asked, a hint of hope in his voice. This made Frank smile.

"No. I'm comfortable with you here. You're so cold and I'm on fire. Stay." He clutched onto the fabric of Gerard's tank top.

"Mmm." Gerard replied, getting into a more comfortable position to lay in, "Get some rest, Frankie. You need it."

"You do too." Frank yawned, "You look like you haven't slept in 10 years."

"80," Gerard corrected, making Frank giggle.

"Drama queen." Was the last thing he said before he drifted back off, Gerard staring at him to make sure he was fine.

...

Gerard wanted to sleep while Frank slept, but he didn't. He watched Frank for a bit but gave up, resting his eyes and listening to the steady rhythm of Frank's breathing. He used to have to do this with his brother because he was prone to night terrors. He would listen for fast paced breathing and wake him from the dreams. But the way he listened to Frank was to make sure his breathing was steady and he didn't choke in his sleep. He had learned this by caring for people he used to work with. He had a friend, Brian, who was almost always sick and would even throw up in his sleep. He had saved Brian many times from choking on disgusting things.

Gerard sighed heavily, regretting it when Frank made a small noise. Frank was curled up against to Gerard in a fetal position and Gerard's face was somewhat in Frank's hair. He knew it was a little creepy, but Frank's hair was very soft and smelled wonderful. One of Gerard's arms was underneath Frank and the other was supporting his head, his hand in his own hair. He had thought about wrapping an arm around Frank, but that seemed to be pushing some borders. He would let Frank steal the cold from him. For the first time in years, Gerard actually felt warm. Almost too warm. He was never happier. Frank stirred and yawned, Gerard sitting up some. Frank tried to look at Gerard but miscalculated where his head was, their heads collided painfully. Frank's hand shot up to his head and Gerard merely laughed, amused by the situation. Frank, on the other hand, was not amused by the situation at all and was actually quite embarrassed. Thankfully his cheeks were already pink from the fever because his blush would've been more than noticeable.

"Sorry..." He rasped.

"It's okay, really. How'd you sleep?" Gerard helped Frank sit up.

"Alright." he paused, "Can we get more water?"

"Yeah! I'll be right back." Gerard started to get up but Frank grabbed his shirt again.

His grip and voice were equally as weak, "No, I meant I want to come with. I don't want to stay in bed."

Frank rolled his eyes when Gerard felt his forehead with the back of his head, "Are you sure you're okay? Nauseous?"

"I feel way better, Gerard, I promise. I'm fine." He pushed his hand away with a smile.

"I'll make us some dinner then. You've been out for a long time." Gerard got up off the bed and walked to the other side to help Frank. Frank had insisted he didn't need help but proved himself wrong when he fell into Gerard. Frank was mumbling things to himself, unhappy with how he couldn't take care of himself. They walked down a flight of stairs, Gerard's arm barely touching Frank's waist as they descended. They made it to the kitchen without harm and that was when Frank noticed all the candles. It gave the entire empty church a weird horror vibe that sent chills down his neck. There was an orange glow all around the altar and pews. Gerard noticed Frank staring and chuckled.

"The power keeps going on and off so I just lit a lot of candles and shut the lights off. It got way too annoying." He put a pot of water over the stove, "There's a thunderstorm still going on strong. Surprised I could escape your grip to light all these. You were holding onto me as if your life depended on it."

Frank made a displeased noise and Gerard laughed. Frank managed to hop up on the counter, or the area where they would set out cookies and stuff for church. He saw the faint glimmer of the donations jar from the corner of his eye. The distant boom of thunder made him jump. From the way the wind whistled, he thought perhaps the storm was coming towards them. Gerard was digging through some cupboards, reaching for various ingredients. He was trying to get something from a cupboard and Frank ended up scooting across the counter to give it to him.

"Aren't you, um, worried that you'll get sick, too?" Frank asked.

"Me?" Gerard paused, putting something into the pot, "No, no, I never get sick. Last time I got sick I was a boy. Haven't even gotten a cold since then."

"Oh and thank you. A lot. If you hadn't found me, well, I don't know. But thank you." Frank looked at his knees when Gerard turned around and smiled at him.

"The pleasure's all mine, Frankie. Whether or not you believe it, I care about you." Frank looked up then and smiled, "I could hear how sad you were and went out to see the problem, and trust me, carrying you back to the church was like a walk to the grave. I felt so bad and when I was cleaning you up, I made the decision that I was going to prove to you that someone out there cared."

"Oh, so these are your clothes?"

He chuckled, "Yes, but I didn't see anything, don't worry. Kept the undergarments on. I just wanted you out of those clothes. You smelled rancid. Like cheap booze and sadness. I prefer the fancier stuff when you're in a good mood."

He grabbed two bowls from a cupboard and pour the contents of the pot into both of them. He set them down in a room off to the side and came back out to help Frank off the counter. Frank was glad because if he had just jumped down, he probably would've fallen. The room that Gerard led him to was spacious and made of almost all windows. He immediately recognized it as a sun room. The rain splashed against the dark windows violently. Frank didn't know this room existed until now. He looked at Gerard and he simply smiled, walking over to the window ledge and lighting a few more candles. If Frank hadn't of known better, he would've thought this was a perfect date set up. Gerard was thinking the different, however, blushing to himself at the very thought. He sat down at one side of a small table and Frank sat down at the other side.

"Sometimes I come in here and watch the lightning light up the sky." Gerard said dreamily, spoon in hand, "It's so peaceful. Reminds me of the good old days."

"You say it like you're in your 40s, Gerard." Frank chuckled, taking a spoonful of the soup. He practically moaned, "Fuck me, oh my god, Gerard! What the fuck?! This is the most amazing thing to ever touch my tongue, I swear."

Gerard almost choked on his soup because in all his years, he has never gotten that reaction from anyone, "I'm glad you like it. I used to make it for my friends when they were sick. It's vegetarian too because sometimes your stomach can't handle that kind of stuff. And no, I won't tell you. It's a secret."

"That's not even close to fair." Frank said, some soup dribbling down his chin. He quickly wiped it with a napkin that Gerard had earlier placed beside him.

They ate in silence for the most part, but both of their minds were going wild. Gerard was focusing on Frank too much and slowly driving himself insane while Frank thought about the flashes of lightning he saw through the windows. He loved storms a lot but they also held an edge of adrenaline. It's human nature to be scared of storms but whenever they came he just wanted to go outside and sit in the rain. Gerard would jump whenever he heard the roll of thunder. He would glance over at Frank, thinking he saw him, but he never did. Frank was too caught up in the storm, the rain becoming stronger, hitting the glass like bullets. Eventually Gerard became nervous and made Frank get out of there with him. Frank had questioned him and even shoved him, but when Gerard voiced his concern, Frank nodded understandingly. Gerard suggested Frank took a bath and Frank agreed, commenting on his greasy hair.

"The bath is in a weird place, but this church is very old. We actually had to change the tub last year. Damn thing broke."

"How do you just break a tub?"

"Um, there are ways one can do such." Gerard said blushing.

Frank decided he didn't want to know.

Gerard led Frank to what appeared to be a finished attic. But instead of the usual attic type things you'd see, it was a bathroom. In it sat a large tub with curtains all around it in a circle. It was something you'd see from a movie. A fancier toilet sat next to it along with a sink with fancy fixtures. There was also a dressing screen in a dull shade of green, matching the rest of the bathroom. It kind of resembled at 50s bathroom and Frank almost found that amusing. A towel rack stood upright next to the shower. The only thing that seemed out of place was a chair with a book on it next to the small attic window. Frank didn't pay much attention to it.

"Well, go on." Gerard gestured to the tub.

"Wait- what?" He shook his head and walked over to it and not to his surprise he didn't know how to work the knobs, "Hey, Gerard?"

Gerard was behind Frank, laughing to himself before turning the left knob, warm water rushing out. Frank rolled his eyes at Gerard when he asked if he needed anymore help. Frank waited for the water to fill up before getting undressed from behind the dressing screen. Gerard sat in the chair, legs crossed, reading a book called The Book Thief. He rather enjoyed it and pretended to read the bible during mass when in reality he was reading this. While Gerard was invested in his novel, Frank was freaking out because he had forgotten his towel on the rack. He called out for Gerard two times before Gerard snapped from his book.

"What?"

"I, uh, left my towel on the rack, could you close your eyes or turn around?"

"Yes, of course."

Frank heard shuffling and peeked out to see that Gerard had completely turned his chair around and was now back into his book. Frank ran to the tub and chuckled to himself because if Gerard had seen him, he would've looked ridiculous. He made a pleased noise when the hot water touched him. His body ached and this felt like heaven. He sat there for a bit, just relaxing, until the heat was a little too much for him. The curtains trapped in the air and Frank hated warm and humid air. It made him feel as if he were suffocating. He opened the curtains some so that if Gerard did turn around he would only see his head and nothing else. He breathed a sigh of relief. Gerard laughed.

"Having fun over there?" Gerard glanced over, "Oh geez you scared me for a second. I wasn't expecting to see your head. Get too hot?"

"Yeah," Frank laughed, "Felt like I was suffocating. Cleared up my nose though. That's good."

Gerard turned his body and sat on the chair backwards. In his hands were the book. He looked at Frank smiling, "That's good!"

Frank sat up some, "So what're you reading?"

Gerard's face lit up tremendously and Frank had to admit that his excitement was contagious. Gerard almost stood up to show Frank but then realized the situation. Frank merely rolled his eyes and told him it was fine as long as he didn't look into the curtain. Gerard said that was fair. He sat next to the tub cross legged and showed Frank the cover. Frank nodded approvingly. The cover was a scene with dominos. He wondered how it went along with the book. Gerard began to ramble about how accurate and amazing the book was. He also talked about how well written it was and how the author should be crowned king of all books written about the subject. He even read the first chapter to Frank. Frank hated to say it, but the book was amazing. Gerard told Frank that this was his 10th time reading the thing. It was his favorite book 'of all time'. Frank noticed that when Gerard read, his voice raised a pitch or two. He also had this excitement in his eyes that was rather amusing. Frank thought Gerard was amusing in general. After Frank had subtly cleaned himself, he rested his arms on the edge of the tub, his head propped up on them. He stared at Gerard while he read.

"What do you," Gerard paused for .2 seconds, blushing when he met Frank's eyes, "think?"

"It sounds amazing!" Frank smiled, "Can you, um, read more?"

Gerard laughed, "I'm afraid  you'll have to wait until you're dry. Don't prune up on me."

He got up with a grunt, hearing the curtain close and Frank stand up. Gerard grabbed his towel and stuck his hand into the curtains, making Frank squeak with surprise and then thank him after apologizing. Frank trusted Gerard but there were things about him he'd like to keep private. He didn't like showing other people his body. He was always hesitant in locker rooms and at the doctor's when they ask him to remove his shirt or something. He knew most people didn't care but Frank did. He was just that way. He dried off the best he could, tub draining while he did so. He tied the towel around his waist and stepped out from behind the curtain, Gerard standing there with a pair of new clothes. Frank took them, thanking him. Frank got dressed behind the dressing screen and popped back out, Gerard sitting in the chair, book closed and in his lap.

"So, um, what now?"

Gerard shrugged, "I'll watch the storm with you."

"Sounds like a great plan."

Gerard got up and put an arm around Frank's shoulders squeezing lightly, "I thought you'd think so."


	7. Chapter 7

Frank's mother had yelled at him when he returned home, chastising him about how he shouldn't drink or party or go to cemeteries. But then she broke down and held Frank's hands, telling him how sorry she was for not being present in his life and how it was all her fault. He had held his mother, his heart breaking a bit. He told her he was sorry too and that he had decided he wasn't going to hang out with them anymore. They were ruining him. He even told his mother what had happened before Gerard found him. That only made her cry harder, saying she never wanted Frank to feel that way. She never wanted this to happen. That was all she said until she collected herself. They hugged for a very long time.

"So," she had said when Frank came down the stairs on a Wednesday morning, "You and Father Way are good friends now?"

Frank nodded, not phased by the random question, "Better than any other friend I've had. He's definitely nicer than the ones I have now."

"How so?" She sat up on the couch and patted the cushion next to her.

He smiled and sat next to her. They hadn't sat down and talked like this in a very long time, "Well when I was sick he helped me a lot. He even read part of a book to me because it's like his favorite thing to ever exist. He's a really good cook and even though I tell him he doesn't have to, he makes stuff for me when I'm there during lunch or whatever. He really listens to you, you know? My friends, you can't show them any sensitivity or vulnerability, but with Gerard, you could tell him anything and the secret's safe."

"Turns out there's more than meets the eye. He always looks so moody." She laughed.

Frank chuckled as well, "He has his swings. One minute he's messing with my hair and telling me he could cut it. Then the next minute he's across the room and not letting you come within ten feet of him. He's strange alright, but he's harmless."

"Well I'm glad you've found someone to talk to."

Frank sat up, running a hand through his hair, "He actually asked me to pick some stuff up from the store and bring it by the church."

"Oh," she sat up as well, brushing hair from her face, "Better go do that then. I'll be over at Melissa's. Sound good?"

"Perfect."

Frank got back up and fixed himself brunch. Today he just wore his usual school uniform with his special enhancements, of course. His mother sat down at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of lukewarm coffee. He told her a bit about the day ahead and how he was to try his best to stay out of his friends' way's. She smiled and said she was proud of him. His smile couldn't be wiped off. He had never heard those words out of her mouth since he was six. Even though it was over something dumb like ditching friends that weren't good for him, he still took it to heart. After years of being told he isn't good enough and being fussed over, having your mother say 'I'm proud of you' is one of the best feelings on earth. He was excited to tell Gerard.

He left the house in the most amazing mood, backpack over his shoulder. He stopped by the gas station to fill up his tank first, then made his way to the market close by the church. As he got the things Gerard asked for, which was mostly food ingredients and dish washer soap, his mind wandered. He thought about his old friends and how they were so closed minded. He thought about his mother and how much she had changed within the last month. He thought about his father and even considered making things even between them. He thought about music some and made a mental note to change his guitar strings when he had the free time. But most of all, he thought about Gerard. He wondered how long the church had been Gerard's or how long it had been in his family. He also thought about the weird things Gerard did. He had some weird fear of blood and sharp objects. Yet he sat next to Frank while he projectile vomited and used knives when he cooked. Maybe it was a death fear. Frank could relate. No matter how many years he had been taught what's on the other side, he still feared it. He had so much he wanted to do before he died, yet he felt hopeless.

He shook away those thoughts and continued down the cheese aisle.

He decided to think about graduation, which was coming up, and possibly asking his mom to buy him a new guitar. He went over his favorite models and companies in his head and got so distracted that he didn't realize it was his turn in line. He apologized to the cashier and told him that he was in a daze thinking about guitars. The cashier got excited while he rang up Frank's, or rather Gerard's, things. He asked Frank what kind he was thinking about and the conversation took off from there. The store wasn't that busy so after the groceries were paid for, Frank continued to talk to the guy. His name was Matt and he had already graduated. He was taking online college classes and was looking for more people to hang out with because all his friends from high school had ditched him. Frank admitted he was looking for people too and offered to maybe hang out with Matt sometime. He really seemed to like the idea and subtly wrote his number on the back of Frank's receipt.

Frank arrived to the church later than expected and entered the sanctuary, bags in hand, waiting for his daily 'you should learn how to keep track of time' speech. But Gerard was waiting for Frank in the kitchen with a dazed look in his eyes. Frank sat the bags on the counter, snapping Gerard from his daydreams. His face lit up when he saw Frank and jumped off of the counter to greet him. Frank expected a hug but not a very tight and long one. He grew worried about Gerard, but he seemed to be fine. Or at least he hoped so.

"How're you feeling?" Gerard asked, hand rubbing Frank's shoulder.

"Better. Much better. 110% better." Frank said dramatically.

Gerard rolled his eyes and let go of Frank's shoulder, "Good. Thank you for getting these for me."

Gerard asked for the receipt so he could pay Frank back and handed it over to him without much thought. Gerard looked at it briefly and grabbed his wallet from his pocket but caught a glimpse of the back, taking time to glance at the number. Frank suddenly became worried when Gerard's face saddened.

"Did I spend too much?" Frank asked, walking over to Gerard.

Gerard backed away, "Who is this?"

"Gerard, what- oh. The cashier, Matt. He's a pretty sweet dude. We talked about guitars for like 20 minutes. He gave me his number so we could hang out sometime. Sorry about being late, by the way." Frank leaned against the counter, "You okay, Gerard?"

He snapped his vision from the paper to look at Frank, "Me? Oh, I- I'm just peachy."

Frank frowned and walked over to Gerard, ignoring how he kept trying to move away from him, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Gerard hissed, "Go away."

"No." Frank stood his ground, "I wanna know why you do this. Why do you want me to go away and then the next moment you're all over me?"

Gerard's breathing was getting heavier now as he looked at Frank. He was in a corner now, Frank standing in front of him, practically looming. Gerard felt scared with how he felt. There was fear but there was also something else. A something else he had been denying for so many weeks. He needed Frank to leave before he exploded.

"Leave," Gerard whispered, his voice cracking, "Please."

Frank took a step back, more than surprised, "Gerard?"

Gerard held out the receipt and Frank took it. He tried to say his name again but Gerard just asked him to leave and that he would call him when it was okay for him to come back. Frank opened his mouth to say something but he was fragile then. Instead he just clutched the paper in his hand and glared at Gerard, storming out of the church.

"I can't believe him!" He yelled, kicking the side of his car, setting the alarm off.

He opened his car door and slammed it behind him. His day, which had a happy atmosphere at first, was destroyed. He rested his head on his steering wheel and took deep breaths. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't- never mind. But why? Why was he hurt? It felt as if Gerard had rejected him in a way. But he always was unpredictable. He just wanted to know what was wrong and if Frank could do anything to make him feel differently. Maybe Frank wanted Gerard to notice what was wrong with him. Maybe for just one day he wanted Gerard to act like his normal self instead of the scared, kicked dog he sometimes was. He wiped his eyes and grunted, pulling his car out of the parking spot. He glanced over at the church to see a shadow in one of the windows. Frank sped out of the church lot and drove to the high school of lost hopes and dreams. Okay that was dramatic, he thought, I just don't want to face anyone.

His day at school went on as usual with a few minor differences. He sat outside to eat lunch and didn't talk to anyone he didn't have to. Some teachers asked if he was doing fine when he stared at nothing for too long. During one class he broke a pencil without even knowing he was squeezing it that hard. But once he was done with the classes he had to go to, he sped off. He just drove to drive. Thankfully his subconscious drove him back home. He just sat and stared at his house for a second. Then it hit him- he was having a crisis. The word... the word for it was... existential! He was questioning everyone and everything and he didn't know how much longer this would take. He had so many questions and answers that could be easily obtained, but were out of reach. He reached into his back pocket once he was inside and decided to text Matt. He responded almost immediately and that made Frank's day better. Apparently Matt got off work early today and had some free time if Frank wanted to go hang out some place. Frank had nothing better to do so he accepted the offer.

Frank was sick of driving today so Matt picked him up at around 5 after Frank had explained to his mother that Matt worked at the market and was not a serial killer. Frank let Matt surprise him with a location and to his wonderful excitement, it was probably the coolest pizza place he had ever been to. It was like the building had stayed in the 50s. The neon lights lit up the street around it, giving the whole place a very welcoming atmosphere. When they walked in there was several pinball machines and a few candy machines as well. There was many bright red and orange booths with people occupying them. A few of them glanced over at the door before continuing jovial conversation. Frank looked at Matt with excitement and joy in his eyes.

"Dude!" Frank exclaimed, making Matt laugh, "This place is fucking rad!"

Matt laughed, "Calm your tits, dude. People are staring."

Matt was right. A few people were looking over at them with smiles. They also thought Frank's excitement was adorable. A waitress came over and showed them to a booth, laughing when Frank told her that this place was 'the raddest restaurant he's ever been in'. She had thanked them and asked what drinks they wanted. Frank just settled for a cherry Coke and Matt had said he'd have the same. Frank already thought Matt was a cool dude but when Matt explained that cherry Coke was his favorite soda, that only made Frank like him more.

"So why haven't I seen you around?"

"Oh, um, my family likes to keep me locked up some. I'm kind of a 'sneak out' kind of guy, you know? But, uh, I stopped doing that stuff and my friends didn't like it so yeah." Frank felt embarrassed.

"So you kind of laid low in school?" Matt asked taking a sip of his soda.

"Yeah. We were kind of the delinquent group of people. Pretty sure one of them sold Adderall." Frank joked.

Matt choked on his soda, he was laughing so hard, "I remember you said something about one friend still?"

Frank nodded, "Yeah I somehow became friends with the 'assistant priest' at the catholic church in town. He's okay, but he has really fucking weird mood swings."

"You don't mean that one down on Cemetery Drive, do you?" Matt laughed nervously.

Frank eyed him, "Yeah, what about it?"

Matt leaned in closely and Frank did the same. Matt talked quietly, "Dude, that place is sketchy as fuck. It closed down for like 30 years and only 26 years ago reopened. My grandma told me that she used to be good friends with the priests there but then they just disappeared. Before she died, she said one of the priests looked exactly like the old one. She tried to talk to him and he freaked out and said he was a great grandson."

"That is fucking shady," Frank whispered, "I'm sorry about your grandma by the way."

"It's okay. She died when I was 10. I don't remember her all that well. But, okay, listen. The fucking creepy thing is that she didn't die of old age. Her neck broke." He paused for effect, "They found her in her room."

"You don't think..."

"I don't know man, but it looks pretty fucking suspicious if you ask me."

Frank sat back in the booth, "Shit, dude. I'm gonna ask Gerard if he knows any of this shit."

"Gerard? That's the guy's name? Fuck. That was the old priest's name back when my grandma was alive."

Frank waved it away, "People get named after their grandfathers all the time. I mean, hell, I am. And plus, that doesn't make any sense. Gerard is 26. People just don't not age, you know?"

Matt laughed, "Yeah you're right. Gerard is a cool name, though. Very fancy."

Frank laughed next, "I'll let him know."

The two talked casually chatted for the rest of the time, not really talking about the whole dead grandma thing anymore. Once Matt did ask what Gerard was like and Frank found himself rambling about how he became the errand runner and how Gerard likes The Smashing Pumpkins. Matt apparently loved the Pumpkins too and they had a very long discussion about it. Matt had a CD collection almost as wide as Frank's. They made a note to visit each other's houses and see which CDs they had in common. Frank mentioned how he went to a Weezer concert last year and Matt groaned saying how lucky Frank was. Eventually they ordered a 7 cheese pizza. The waitress had been flirting heavily with Frank, and Frank, being the oblivious fuck he was, didn't notice. Matt had brought it up to him.

"Wait- she was what? With me?" Frank was shocked.

"Yeah, Frank. She wasn't that subtle. She fucking touched your hair and said you were cute. Girls don't just do that, trust me. You should talk to her."

Frank looked back at her, "Well, um, I don't know. She's not really my type..."

"What do mean!? She's fucking smoking!"

Frank looked at his lap and shrugged, "Well, it's just... I'm having some... you know, questioning?"

Matt blinked and immediately apologized, "Oh shit, I didn't even think about that. I'm sorry man. So like you think you're like gay?"

"It's complicated. Like yeah guys are pretty hot and girls are cute but it's not like I want to make out with them. I've made out with some friends of mine and they... I mean it was nice." Frank blushed, playing with his hair, "I've never really said this stuff out loud before."

"It's okay! I am literally the safest guy you could tell. Half of my family is really gay. I have two aunts and two uncles, and that's just on my mom's side! Anyway, so what kind of guys do you like?" Matt leaned in, interested.

"Oh, uh, I like the more punk ones? I like dark hair and light eyes. Like blue and green. Hazel is pretty cool, too, especially when their eyes change colors. I like it when we have similar music and movie tastes. I like tall guys and ones around my height. It just gets weird when they're shorter than me cause I'm like 4 feet tall." He laughed, "This is gonna sound so dumb but I like almost like the mysterious guys? Um, like when they don't force it. Like it's just natural for them."

Matt didn't even blink an eye at what Frank said and that made him feel a lot better. Matt sat up and nodded approvingly, "So like a vampire type."

Frank laughed, "Oh my god, no! Well sorta like style wise but not the whole kink thing. That's a little extreme for me. I don't mind blood but I don't like bleeding during sex."

Matt chuckled, "Hey, I mean that one guy, Gerard, he's like 26, right? He seems to be a vampire type. You guys could totally be a thing after you graduate."

Frank scratched the back of his head, "I mean, he's nice but... there'd be a lot to work with. He's not exactly boyfriend material."

"But you'd go out with him?" Matt smiled.

Frank sighed, "No."

"Aww, why not? He's seems to be into you."

"Yeah, but just- I don't know. Isn't that a bit weird? A priest?"

"Hey, you said that he isn't the average priest. When your friends came over he said something like he drinks, smokes, and does the dirty, you know? Maybe he just likes the outfit. He's a fancy man."

Frank laughed, "Fancy. That's one way to describe him. But, yeah, no. Wouldn't date him. Even if I did like him, my friends have kinda made that awkward. With the whole story and shit."

Matt frowned, "Yeah that shit was really fucked up. Even if you are just joking, actually having both you and him read that is fucked up."

"You're telling me." Frank laughed.

They ate some of the pizza and talked here and there. Matt brought Gerard back up but not in the way Frank was expecting. He actually choked on his soda when Matt brought it up.

"Wait, dude. Maybe Gerard is a vampire."

Frank coughed, "Excuse me?"

"Well, let's look at the facts, right? The church closed down for 30 years out of nowhere. Then it opened again and almost no one knew the new priests except for one person- my grandma. And then she mysteriously dies. Gerard, same name and same face. You said he didn't look 26 at all. You said he's cold and really pale and has a fear of blood and sharp things. And how you run errands for him when it's sunny out! It's so obvious! He probably killed my grandma because she knew what he was..." Matt looked up at Frank, who had turned pale, "What?"

"We went out one time when it was raining and I mentioned how I looked like a sad and wet vampire. He like rewinded and started freaking out. Dude, I- vampires aren't real what am I saying? This is stupid." Frank shook his head, staring down at his pizza, "This isn't like a horror movie man. This is real life."

"Frank," Matt spoke sternly, "Think about it for a second."

And he did. He took in what Matt had said. It all made sense. When Frank went over and asked Gerard where the fire poker was and how Gerard told him he didn't have one because he hated sharp things. Or how he had told Frank he sanded down the rough edges on the large wooden cross in case it fell and almost impaled someone. He thought maybe he was just paranoid, but it made sense. He didn't want to be killed. Or how he can only be in the sun for short periods of time? Perfect sense. And Gerard's mood swings? He doesn't want to get close to Frank. He doesn't want him to go away or to lose him. And when they first met and Frank's arm was bleeding. He had avoided looking at Frank and had a hand over his mouth. Or how he smiles so his teeth doesn't show? Frank felt sick. It all lined up. 30 years... and 26 years... Frank's eyes widened when he did the math. Gerard had said he had been hungry for 56 years. Frank tugged on his hair, looking back up at Matt.

"You're right."

...

"I can't believe you're doing this. I can't believe you're doing this. I can't believe you're doing this. I can't believe you're doing this!" Frank repeated to himself as he approached the church doors at 7:30 pm.

Matt had to go home and finish up a paper and Frank had nothing else better to do, so why not go up to basically your only friend and confront them about being a vampire? Seems logical. Frank was nervous as all fuck and kept running his hand through his hair. He knew Gerard would've calmed down by now so he was safe from mood swings at least. When he was with Matt, Gerard had left him a voicemail apologizing and saying that if he wanted to come over again, he could. He almost called back, but he wanted to surprise him. After all, this was a big deal. A vampire! He still couldn't believe that he was believing this bullshit. But it was the only thing that made sense. Nothing at this point actually made sense, but the whole vampire thing it just... was hard to explain.

Eventually Frank creaked open the church doors, the church empty and dark, a few candles lit here and there, giving the whole place a very eerie atmosphere. He swallowed and closed the door softly behind him. He called out for Gerard. No answer. He walked the dark halls, scared of God knows what. He felt along the wall, heart beat increasing when his hand touched Gerard's office door knob. He clutched it tight in his hands and counted to ten before turning it. Frank almost gasped.

Gerard was in his office. The candles lit up the room just like it had the sanctuary. It was eerie and more than terrifying. Frank's heart practically beat out of his chest. Gerard had his back turned to the door and was sliding off a black dress shirt. Frank's eyes widened. His back was covered in grotesque scars.

There were three large and wide scars and smaller ones scattered around the rest of his back. Gerard placed his hands on his desk after folding the shirt and putting it on his desk chair. His scars contorted as his muscles moved. Frank found it interesting and terrifying at the same time. He snapped from his daze and opened the door more, making sure to make noise. Gerard jumped and turned around swiftly. His eyes were wide.

"Frank! You scared the hell out of me." He turned to him.

Gerard had a few scars on his chest as well, but they weren't as bad as the ones on his back. He noticed Frank's staring and sighed. Frank immediately spoke, "Sorry, it's just- I've never seen scars like that before."

Gerard loomed and laughed darkly, "You're the first person to see them in years." Frank was about to ask if he could touch them and realized that sensually stroking Gerard probably wouldn't get either of them anywhere. Gerard cleared his throat, "Anyway, why are you here so late?"

"I came to... to tell you that I know something." Frank felt light headed and was surprised he could form sentences.

Gerard froze, "What do you know?"

"I went out to dinner with Matt and he told me that this church closed down for 30 years and only 26 years ago reopened. He told me that his grandmother went to this church before it closed and after it reopened. He also says there was a priest there with your exact name and face. His grandmother recognized you and you couldn't let her tell others. You killed her didn't you?" Frank took steps towards Gerard.

"Frank- please! It's for good reason!" Gerard began to panic.

"Your fear of blood, how you can't go out in the sun, how you smile, and even how you talk... I'm surprised I couldn't figure it out myself. Even after all the dracula movies I watched and fuck, even when my mother forced me to watch the Twilight movies! Why didn't you tell me? I heard your conversation with Sophie, too. 56 years of being hungry? And to think I could trust you? I drove myself insane thinking you hated me! Sure, you wanted to keep it a secret, but to push me away!? I don't care if you're a vampire or whatever the hell you are, but I would've appreciated it if you would tell me after we got close like we are. You-"

Gerard made a noise of anger and pinned Frank against the wall. Frank gasped when his head hit the wall with a thud. Fear and arousal filled Frank head to toe. He stared at Gerard. Gerard dug his fingernails into Frank's skin, causing Frank to make a pained noise. He was terrified. Both were. Gerard was angry, yes, but he was scared. He was growling at Frank, his teeth finally in Frank's view. Frank gasped when he saw fangs. He was scared. Both were but only one chose to show it.

"I would've told you!" Gerard yelled, "But I couldn't! I would've looked insane! Yes, I've been hungry for 56 years. I had to close down the church because people began to spread rumors. But then they all died. Except for Matt's grandmother. I couldn't just have her know. It was for a good reason! Frank, I care about you a lot, but I couldn't tell you. Sophie wouldn't let me. It was too dangerous. I wanted you to know, even if this is how you found out. Through someone else," Gerard's face softened. He cupped Frank's cheek, "I'm so sorry, Frank. I'm so sorry that I have to do this. You'd do the same thing, I'm sure! If you had been hungry for 56 years... I'm sure you'd do the same."

Gerard's face was sad as he tilted Frank's head back. Frank stopped breathing then. He closed his eyes, thinking his neck were to be snapped. He gasped for air when Gerard's hand touched his neck. Gerard mumbled something about how this might hurt. Gerard leaned in and placed his lips on Frank's neck, his stomach twisting. This would've been so much easier if Gerard wasn't heavily infatuated with Frank. He opened his mouth and licked the flesh before sinking down into Frank's neck. Frank screamed. It didn't hurt, but it felt so weird. His hand shot up to Gerard and gripped anything he could. And that happened to be his hair. Frank's body was reacting strangely to the whole thing. It was sort of a mixture between a shudder and a shiver.

The way it felt was so weird. Frank knew what he felt wasn't pain. It felt like it was supposed to, but it didn't. The part where his fangs went through Frank's skin, now that hurt. Anything piercing skin hurts. After a bit, Frank's noises calmed down. The sensation was almost relaxing in a way. It felt as if all the bad things in his blood were being removed. Or maybe Frank was slowly dying from blood loss. Both could've been possible in that moment. Gerard bit down harder out of habit and Frank screamed then, his grip on Gerard making his knuckles turn white. Gerard unlatched himself and Frank started panting. He felt like he had just ran a marathon without stopping for water at all. Frank stared at Gerard. Blood, his blood, was smeared all over Gerard's mouth and running down his chin. Frank's knees buckled and Gerard had to hold him up.

"Fuck, I think I might've taken too much from you."

Frank squeaked in response.

Gerard carried Frank to the kitchen and sat him down on a wooden chair. Gerard cleaned himself off with a wet rag and grabbed something from the fridge. He walked back over to Frank and handed him the bag, which happened to be a bag of chocolate. Frank stared at it confused but nodded to himself when he realized he was supposed to eat it. He did so while Gerard cleaned blood off of his neck. He dug through a drawer and pulled out some tape and gauze from an emergency kit. Frank winced when he pushed down to make sure the tape stuck.

Gerard sat on the ground in front of Frank, resting his head on one of Frank's knees, "I'm so sorry..."

Frank was too out of it to really comprehend what had just happened so he just smiled and patted Gerard's head, "It's okay, Gee. You were hungry. I mean, I get hungry sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes. I know how it feels."

Gerard looked up at Frank and smiled, teeth and all, "So you forgive me?"

"Yeah." He shoved another bite of chocolate in his mouth, "I'm so tired..."

"That-that'll happen. I should drive you home."

"Or I could stay with you."

"No, that'll look suspicious. I'll just drop you off and make up some story to your mother. You may or may not hate me in the morning. You'll be sore."

Frank nodded, drooling when he realized that the chocolate was really good. He wiped his mouth and apologized to Gerard. He must've looked a little weird. Gerard just laughed and watched Frank with adoration. Frank stopped and smiled at Gerard when he caught his gaze.

"Do I have chocolate on my face?"

"No," Gerard giggled, "You're just cute."

Frank's smile grew, "I know."


	8. Chapter 8

Frank woke up to a severe pain in his neck. And his neck hurt pretty bad, too. His mother had yelled at him several times from down stairs for him to come down, but he didn't want to. He was having a lovely time sleeping, thank you very much. But eventually she started threatening to take away things and he got up, throwing a pair of pants on. He walked to his bathroom groggily to use it before he went downstairs. He could see two blurry outlines. One that was vaguely familiar and the other was his mother. His eyebrows furrowed as his vision cleared. It was Gerard. And he was having coffee with Frank's mother. He didn't make much of it. He just yawned and sat down at the table with them. Gerard giggled quietly.

"Morning," his mother said through clenched teeth.

Gerard waved his hand, "No need to impress me, Linda. He looks better this way anyway. Messy hair, or bedhead rather, suits you well."

"It's not that, it's the tattoos." Linda mumbled into her coffee cup.

Frank doesn't really sleep with shirts on, so naturally all the ink on his torso was visible to both of them. Linda looked almost annoyed, but Gerard, on the other hand, was blushing behind his coffee cup because damn. He really liked Frank's tattoos. Frank scratched his arm and yawned again, Gerard trying not to make an audible noise of adoration. He rubbed his neck out of habit and winced at the pain.

"Fuck," he mumbled.

"Frank Anthony-" his mother paused, "What in God's name is on your neck?"

"Linda," Gerard cut in, "That's what I came here for, remember? To explain the situation?"

"Oh, right. Well go on." She sat up.

"Well it turns out that Frank here is quite the klutz. I asked him to go to the shed to get something for me and he tripped and fell onto a wood project one of the children were working on. It took me about 30 minutes to remove all the wood from his neck. It bruised pretty damn good as you can tell." Gerard reached over and lifted Frank's hair, showing the large purple bruises. He met Frank's eyes and froze for a second before letting go. He took another sip of his coffee. Frank stared at it longingly, "I'm sorry, Linda. He seems to always get hurt somehow in my presence."

"Can I have some of your coffee?" Frank asked Gerard.

"Frank!"

Gerard rolled his eyes, "We drank the rest of the pot. It's the least I could do."

"Yeah," Frank added, "You owe me."

"That's fair." Gerard slid the cup to Frank and he took it gratefully.

Linda watched the two interact for a bit and noticed that she perhaps underestimated how strong their friendship was. They seemed very comfortable with each other and would even make each other laugh here and there, scaring her from her focused trance. She was staring at a random point on the table when she realized that the atmosphere had tension. She looked over to see Gerard looking at his lap and Frank looking at Gerard with an unreadable expression. Frank stood up and signaled for Gerard to follow him. Linda sat up.

"Where are you going?"

"We need to speak privately." Frank looked at Gerard and grabbed his arm once they were within reach.

"Ow! Stop!"

Frank led Gerard up to his room with a firm grip on his arm. Gerard kept making complaints about it, but Frank didn't let go until he closed his bedroom door behind them. Gerard had a lot of things going through his head, most of which were not appropriate. But who could blame him? He was in Frank's bedroom with the door closed and Frank was shirtless. Gerard was as confused as can be. He knew Frank had questions and things, but he seemed a little madder than expected.

"So." Frank laughed nervously before gesturing to Gerard, "You- you're a vampire. Um, uh, what the fuck?"

"Well, there's not really much to explain." Gerard shrugged, "But you have questions, I'm sure."

"I don't even know where to begin because this explains a lot. You, uh, how old are you?" Frank sat on his bed, scooting over so Gerard could as well.

He sighed, sitting down next to Frank, "I'm 106."

Frank barked out a laugh that sounded borderline insane, "106! Of course! And what year were you born? Why don't you just tell me how this even came to be?"

Gerard ran a hand through his hair, looking at Frank skeptically, "I was born on April 9th of 1911. I was 26 when I turned into what I am. I don't remember who did it, so I can't say. But I didn't think much of it when I came to. I just knew that it hurt and everything felt very floaty. I was three shades lighter and I had these things where my teeth used to be. I was scared. I tried to tell my brother and he thought I was crazy. Then he saw me over some random girl covered in blood and tears. He believed me and would sneak out to hospitals and steal bags of blood for me. We kind of lived off of that for the longest time. Our parents died of pneumonia when I turned 28. The same year, Mikey and I were drafted into war. World War II. It was hell. I hated it. I still have flashbacks to seeing all the people I went to school with laying dead in front of me. During war I was trying to get Mikey to say yes to me turning him. He was all I had, you know? I wanted him to stay with me. But he always said 'I'm not ready yet'. But then a few years passed and I started to get anxious. We were put out on the front lines. Mikey got hurt real bad and on his deathbed I kept begging him for me to change him, but he wouldn't let me. Told me it was God's plan. I didn't even know that he believed in such religious things and dedicated my life to it. I was a priest for many years after the war but took a break to be a hair stylist. Did that for a decade and opened a church. I had it running for a good while until I got caught. They tried to kill me, Frank, they tried to kill me!" Frank scooted closer to him, trying to comfort him somehow, "They had whips and knives and wooden stakes... they gave me these ugly scars. They called me demonic and a freak and so many horrible things..."

Gerard stared at his hands, trying desperately not to choke up. Frank touched his wrist gingerly, making Gerard jump and stare at him longingly. Frank never knew what he longed for, but the look always made Frank sad, "I don't think you're any of those things, Gerard. Like yeah I'm a little scared and sorta freaked out but most of all I'm in awe. Cause holy fuck, you're a vampire. Those scars are really cool in my opinion. Like it took every ounce of my being not to touch them cause dude how did you not die?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not that easy to kill. It'll feel like hell and I'll want to die, but they couldn't kill me. They didn't know how. They just knew things from horror movies and those are very unreliable. The sun doesn't burn us, it just feels annoying. Like little needles all over you. Holy water pretty much does nothing. Same with crucifixes. That's why I became a priest because who would suspect that I of all people would be what I am? But I had to close down the church for 30 years. I had to make sure no one would remember me. For the most part, no one recognized me when I reopened it. Only one person did and I had to protect myself, Frank. I didn't want to kill the woman, but she knew me! She dug a knife into my left thigh. I remember it as if it were yesterday..."

"Fuck, oh my God, Gerard. I'm so sorry. I didn't know any of this and I just stormed in there accusing you." Frank gripped Gerard's wrist tighter involuntarily, "You forgive me, right?"

Gerard laughed, "I sucked a fuck ton of blood from you and you're apologizing?"

"Well when you put it like that..."

"But yes, it's okay. But are you okay? Your neck, I mean." Gerard brushed Frank's hair back again to look at it.

Frank pulled back a bit. The area was sensitive. Gerard continued to look at it as if it were an art piece. The bruises were dark blues and purples. There were two small holes that were scabbed over. Gerard should've felt horrible about the whole thing, acting out of nature instead of mind. But he didn't. He felt sort of accomplished. He had survived 56 years without going on a hungry killing spree. He trusted Frank wouldn't tell anyone else about this or turn on him. And if he did, well, things would get complicated.

"It's fine. Just sore." Frank half smiled awkwardly because Gerard was getting closer and he wasn't used to people being so close to him when he was sober. Or when the other person was as sober as him.

"You can't tell anyone the truth. I don't want history to repeat itself." Gerard whispered.

Frank swallowed, "Well, uh..."

Gerard's veins were ice cold. With a swift movement, he had him pinned to his bed. Frank squeaked, seeing the anger in his eyes, "Who did you tell?"

"No one! They came up with the theory in the first place!" Frank squeezed his eyes shut.

Gerard loosened his grip, sitting up. Frank scooted back, slightly riled up. His eyebrows furrowed together, "Was it Matt?"

Frank didn't like the way he said his name, "Just because you're jealous of Matt doesn't give you the right to murder. I'll tell him something different. Tell him it was a big prank or some shit. Am I not allowed to have friends with you?"

Gerard shook his head, "But with you knowing and me... it couldn't end well. Matt had connections with me- his grandmother. I can't take that kind of risk."

"So you're just gonna isolate me?" Frank scoffed.

"If it comes to that point, then maybe that's not a bad idea."

"So what then? I'm just gonna be your walking blood bank?"

"Well that's one way to say it." Gerard sighed, "I've just been hungry for so long, Frank, I wish you could understand."

"I'm trying to but nothing seems to be in my favor." Frank hissed under his breath, sitting back in the edge of his bed, "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Gerard thought for a moment, puckering his lips while he searched his brain, "I have healing powers in my saliva."

"You what?" Frank blinked.

Gerard shrugged, running a hand through his hair. He looked at Frank, "Well if I didn't, you'd be dead right now. I healed you while I was almost killing you, in a sense. If I'm around the person after I, um, feed per se, I can heal the wound completely. But the real weird part is that it has to be direct contact. In it's purest form."

"That is cool and also very fucking weird at the same time."

"You're telling me."

"So you'd have to like put your mouth on someone in order to heal them?"

"That or I just lick them. It gets weird."

"Yeah..." Frank looked at his folded hands, eyes wide, "So that means you could...?"

"Heal that horrid thing on your neck? Yes, I could." Gerard froze, "Do you...?"

"I mean I have classes and stuff this week and I feel like I would get some unwanted looks..." Frank didn't meet his eyes, "So, um, yeah. I think it'd be best."

Gerard sighed because this may or may not have been one of the most awkward moments in his entire life. Frank just sat there, his brain slowly processing that he had just asked Gerard to put his mouth on his neck. Again. Well the first time he didn't ask, but it still counts. It was also weird because Frank had a feeling that Gerard felt strong emotions towards him. Frank didn't mind that Gerard liked him, he was quite flattered, but he knew that necks, vampire or not, were a very intimate area for another person's lips to be on. Frank opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he forgot what he was to ask. Gerard turned back to Frank, blushing just slightly.

"So, this might feel weird. The whole process is going to feel weird, I'm going to be honest. But the product will be worth it, I promise." Gerard smiled, reaching for Frank.

Frank scooted closer to Gerard and moved his hair out of the way, already holding his breath. He felt Gerard's hands on his neck. He closed his eyes and went to his happy place, thinking about the new music store in town he promised himself he would go to. Gerard held Frank's hair out of the way and leaned in close, saying a silent apology in his head. Frank didn't expect someone's tongue on your neck to hurt until he realized he had sensitive bruises on there. It ended quickly, thankfully, because Frank kept holding back grossed out noises. His neck started to tingle slightly and he involuntarily reached up to it, but Gerard caught his hand.

"It'll feel that way for a second or two, but I can already see that it's healing up nicely. The color isn't as vibrant." He stated happily.

"Wait, really?" Frank got up and went into his bathroom.

Sure enough the bruises looked better. It was almost the exact same color as his skin. He watched as the colors faded and the two scabbed over holes in his neck disappeared. It was weird as all hell, but also very cool at the same time. Just like he had stated before. The whole tongue-on-neck thing pushed to the back of his brain, Frank lunged at Gerard, hugging him tightly. Gerard hugged back, unsure, but mostly blushing a lot. Frank thanked him several times before going back to the mirror and running his hands over the newly restored skin. Now he just had to explain this to his mother. He figured he could just say he covered it up well.

"Seriously, thank you a lot." Frank said when he felt Gerard stand behind him.

He looked in the mirror to see if he could see Gerard, and to his surprise, he could. Well, almost. He was transparent. It was Gerard, but it was a silhouette with some haphazard coloring. He almost didn't look real. Frank caught himself staring when Gerard chuckled, biting his thumb a bit to stifle the laughter. There was limited color on Gerard's reflection, but Frank could tell that Gerard was blushing. He did that a lot, Frank noticed. He just brushed it off as a Gerard thing.

"So," Frank started, going over to his dresser to find clothes, "You have a weird reflection."

"That I do. Cool, right? You can still kinda see me because I wasn't born a vampire. I was changed." Gerard explained, standing behind Frank.

Frank turned around and held up two shirts. One was a regular white shirt and the other was a band shirt. Frank looked up hopefully at Gerard, asking for input. Gerard thought for a moment before pointing to the white shirt. Frank rolled his eyes, "I had a feeling you would choose that one."

"Simplistic things look good on you! Designs draw attention away from your body shape, which I am very envious about, by the way." Gerard stated, folding his arms over his chest.

"Really?" Frank said, putting the shirt over his head, "I kinda just thought I was ordinary. Well, my body shape anyway. Nothing like supermodel about it."

"Well, I'm biased."

"How so?" Frank asked, distractedly, trying to edge his way into a pair of jeans.

"Well, you see- I- well..." Gerard ran a hand through his hair, "Nothing. It's not important."

"If it's important to you, it's important to me." Frank walked over to his bed to sit down and put his socks on, "No secrets now, okay? I mean at this point, it's useless to hide things from each other."

"But, Frank, what if that something could potentially ruin our friendship?" Gerard said quietly.

Frank stopped but didn't look at Gerard. He knew what he meant. Frank knew Gerard liked him but didn't know how to react if he confessed. He was neutral towards Gerard. In his life, romantically, he had three categories he put people in. Friends/family, neutral, and biased. Friends and family is obvious. Neutral means that he didn't know how to feel about the person. Biased means that he had feelings towards them. He had talked about it before with Matt. If Gerard were to confess or ask Frank out, well, he wouldn't know what to say. Saying yes seems to extreme and saying no also seems a little off the deep end. He'd die being neutral if he could.

"Then save it for when the other person seems to feel the same." Frank got up and started messing with his hair in the mirror, "Better stay neutral until the other declares war, right?"

Gerard thought for a second, "Because that's worked out so many times in the past. Believe me I was in a war."

Frank sighed, "Well maybe declaring war isn't the best time for either country right now. Both are hurting and slightly confused."

"So each country should just stay neutral before they say which side they're on?" Gerard looked so sad.

Frank couldn't meet his eyes, "Maybe one day war will happen, Gerard. But as for me, I don't know if it's safe."

...

Frank's day went on as usual. He went to school and avoided his old friends, except for Jamia and Ray. The rest of them were practically dead to him, but Ray and Jamia were still nice to them. Jamia was a little troubled, but from what he had heard, her parents were basically absent in her life. He sat with them at lunch and chatted a bit, catching up on their fanatics. Apparently there was a school dance coming up that Frank didn't know about. Ray also broke up with Christa because she had been doing some really fucked up things behind his back. He said it wasn't cheating, but worse. He did say he would give her a second chance when she cleaned up a bit. He didn't want that kind of negativity in his life and Frank understood. They asked how he had been doing and he talked a small bit about Gerard. They just listened for the most part.

"But, uh, Frankie?" Jamia stopped him after the bell rang for last period.

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay? You seem nervous." She put a hand on his shoulder, "And I'm here if you wanna talk sometime."

Frank sighed, "You don't miss a thing, do you? Yeah, um, I'm just going through some stuff right now."

"Nothing I can do?"

"Just being my friend right now, if I'm honest. I just- I had to come to terms with something last weekend and it's all too confusing to explain. Maybe someday, yeah?" Frank smiled at her, feeling as helpless as ever.

She smiled back, "Well if there's anything else I can do, give me a call."

"Okay." He said breathily.

She started to walk off to class but Frank grabbed her wrist, "...Frank?"

He took her in for a hug and she made a surprised sound. He pulled her very close, hand on the back of her head. He put his face in her shoulder, "Can we hang out sometime this week?"

"Yeah. Is Friday good? I have work off then." She said, hugging him back just as tightly.

Frank let out a laugh, "Friday! Friday's perfect."

She pulled away some so she could look at Frank's face. He half smiled at her, suddenly very shy. She giggled and kissed his forehead before pulling away, "I gotta head to class. Later loser!"

"Love you, too!" He laughed, watching her run off into the afternoon crowd.

The rest of Frank's day went on much better after his interaction with Jamia and even blushed when he found himself thinking about how she kissed his forehead. He really needed to get his priorities straight. He walked to his house, enjoying the warm air while he could. He had a feeling he wouldn't be going outside a lot due to the new terms and conditions. He usually walked with his head up, but today he looked at his feet, his hands stuffed awkwardly in his pockets. He hoped his weird behavior was just one day, but he had a feeling this was going to become permanent. A side effect of someone draining blood from you every week. That's right. Every week. Frank was surprised too when he found out, but apparently a vampire can't go more than a week without eating unless they haven't eaten in a very long time. They can scrape by with regular food, but blood gives them all their weird vampire abilities.

He opened the doors to the church, kind of dreading seeing Gerard for a second time today. Especially with their previous conversation being about how Gerard liked him and whether or not he should 'go to war'. The church lights weren't on but the light from the stained glass windows gave the sanctuary enough light to navigate. Gerard wasn't anywhere to be seen. Frank just suspected he was in his study. He set his bag by the front door and collapsed on a pew, looking up at the banisters above him. He could've sworn he saw some shadows move up there. He tried to play it off like his eyes were playing tricks, but he saw the shadow move again, his heart beating faster. But then he saw long black hair and a bright smile peer down at him.

"Hello to you, too." Frank said up to him.

He laughed, a bubbly sound, "My powers are back, Frankie! Watch!"

He stood up on the banister and walked up a beam. He continued to walk on the ceiling like some kind of bug to another banister. He sat down on that one, swinging his feet, giggling like crazy. The sound echoed eerily through the church. Frank sat up and smiled crookedly at Gerard.

"That's cool, dude." He offered, slightly freaked out.

"That's not even the best part, watch."

He jumped from the banister in almost slow motion. He landed on the ground easily, barely making a sound. Frank had to admit, he was impressed. He nodded approvingly and gave him a sarcastic clap. Gerard rolled his eyes and sat down next to Frank. Frank sensed something off, almost like he was planning something.

"Anything else, Houdini?" Frank smirked.

"I almost forgot..."

Before Frank knew what hit him, Gerard scooped him up and jumped to one of the banisters. Frank let out a very unmanly squeal. He clutched onto Gerard and stared at the floor below him. Gerard's grip tightened around him. Frank unglued his eyes from the floor and looked at Gerard with pure terror.

"You're a bastard." He whispered.

"That's my job." Gerard winked, "But isn't this cool! My strength is back!"

"It'd be a lot cooler if I was in the ground!" Frank grasped his shirt tighter, glancing at the pews below.

"Oh," Gerard sighed, "right."

He jumped back down to the floor, the impact softer than Frank had expected. Gerard put him down easy, his fingertips trailing over one of Frank's arms. It was involuntary, but Frank noticed. It gave him goosebumps. Generally having something cold against your skin does that, but as usual, Gerard the lovebird read too far into it. Frank automatically sat down on one of the pews, looking at the floor with wide eyes and a loving smile. He liked heights, but only when he knew he was going to be in a high place. Not when his 106 year old vampire friend decides to pick him up and stand on a banister. That was among the list of things Frank did not enjoy.

"You wear me out, my god." Frank smiled and glanced over at Gerard when he sat down next to him.

 


	9. Chapter 9

The thoughts returned rather quickly and this scared Frank tremendously. They always come at very unfortunate times. Drinking with friends, in the middle of an exam, and now it was when he was in his room, home alone. He tried thinking about the rain outside for a bit, trying to focus on each individual raindrop on the window. But that plan soon failed when he felt his entire body start to shut down. He felt cold and dark, holding himself while he cried in the corner. He tried to get up to turn the lights on so it wasn't so gloomy, but when he stood up, he tripped on a dirty sock and cried for about ten minutes over the subject. He knew something with him was wrong. He's never felt this miserable in his entire life and felt like it had to do with Gerard. Though he wasn't sure quite what.

He had skipped school by accident. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what day it was or what time it was. The sky was a dull gray all day, so it really didn't help him. He threw his phone at the wall a few hours ago, making the back of it come off and the battery fly out. He knew it would be fine, he's thrown it at higher velocities before. He did know that today marked the 4th day he hasn't showered. He remembered his mother yelled something through his door this morning about the water, but he didn't remember. He decided to get up. This time he didn't fall on the way to his bathroom. He smiled at the thought of a warm bath. They always made him feel better after a long day, or morning, or evening- he really didn't know what time it was. He kneeled down by the tub and yanked on the old handle.

Nothing happened.

He yanked on it again, but to no avail. He cursed under his breath because it was then he remembered what his mother said. The city messed up and turned their water off instead of the neighbor's. He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. He was a mess, a puffy eyed, tear stained mess. His hair stuck up in weird directions and he tried to smooth it down, but that made it look even more greasy. He gave up, letting it stick up as it wished. He thought for a moment how he was going to deal with this. He then remembered he had a friend with a lovely bathroom and Frank was sure he wouldn't mind if he popped in.

So Frank shoved some clothes into a bag lazily and tried to call Gerard, but ended up having to leave a voicemail. He drove out there almost falling asleep at the wheel. He turned his music up loudly and made sure to play the most aggressive songs so he stayed awake. Surprisingly his plan worked and he made it to the church parking lot without fault. Frank thought about whether or not Gerard had heard the voicemail but decided that if he didn't, he'd just play it off as a surprise visit.

He got out of his car and walked in, surprised to see that Gerard wasn't in the church. He searched everywhere and even called out to him. He may have said some things to himself out loud that he would've regretted if Gerard was there. One of them included 'would you come out if I said I'd suck you off'. It wasn't his best choice of words, but he knew if Gerard was there, it would've got him going. Thankfully he wasn't there because that would've made tension between them even thicker. A small image popped into Frank's head but he quickly put that back where it came from or so help him he would've jumped off a bridge. He already read about that, he didn't want to reenact it.

He shrugged and decided to just take a bath whether or not Gerard was there. He was kinda hoping he was so he could read to him again. They've read before, but he really wanted to know what would happen next because Gerard stopped at a very action packed scene. He was kinda mad that he had stopped there, but he guessed he was just doing it so Frank would come back again. Gerard's been doing things like that lately and Frank could only suspect it's because he's afraid to lose him. He could understand.

He walked up the stairs that greeted him with various noises as he went along. The bathroom was just where it was the last time he was there, as if it would've moved. He set his bag down by the chair and started up the water, his hand under it until it heated up to the desired temperature. He plugged up the tub and threw in some bubbles before he got his things out of his bag. He grabbed a towel and put it on the back of the chair near his clothes. The tub wasn't full yet, so he dicked around for a bit, making faces at himself in the mirror while trying to pop a zit on his hairline. Eventually, the tub was full and he disrobed, sinking into the water peacefully. He sunk down into the water up to his lips, laughing to himself. He was thinking about submarines. Why was he laughing? Well he wasn't quite sure. Lack of sleep and energy, most likely.

Speaking of sleep he was getting extremely tired sitting there like that. He decided to clean himself quickly so he could go back to relaxing. He was glad that his hair wasn't greasy anymore and that his body didn't smell like the school locker room. He started thinking about submarines again and the weird sounds they make and tried to recreate them tiredly. But he yawned while doing so an accidentally swallowed some bath water. He coughed for a bit before settling back down into the water, silently reprimanding himself. He closed his eyes at one point, picturing his dream life. For some reason whenever he got to the point where he had to decide who to marry, it was just a blurb of a person. He couldn't tell the person's gender. He just saw black hair and a smile. That was it. He knew plenty of people with black hair, so this image really didn't help him. He wondered if Gerard ever thought about this kind of stuff and if Frank was the person he wanted to marry. The very thought almost made Frank sad.

He went back to thinking about submarines because those seemed to make him happy right now and after today, he didn't want to be sad. He stopped once he heard a noise. It was small at first and he could've sworn it sounded like someone was climbing up the stairs, but once he heard it, it didn't happen again. He heard a few tricks of the wind due to rain, or at least he thought so. He closed his eyes again, playing songs in his head kind of like a silent radio station. There it was. The noise. Frank sat up quietly, for fear of possibly being discovered. He was about to go back down into the water when-

The curtains were pulled back.

Frank screamed.

"Frank!?" Gerard gasped, accidentally glancing down.

Frank yanked the curtains back and stood up, breathing heavily, "What the fuck!?"

"Here!" Gerard reached in, holding Frank's towel.

Frank took it and dried off while the tub drained. Frank was mad, pissed even. What Gerard did was most likely an accident, but Frank was embarrassed. When it comes to Frank, his embarrassment is easily turned into anger, especially if the embarrassment wasn't on his part. He turned his thoughts over in his head, silently fuming. He probably did it so he could see me, he thought. He shook his head. Gerard wouldn't do that. Right?

Frank stepped out of the tub, eyes locked firmly on Gerard who was shyly blushing in the corner of the room, sitting in the chair with Frank's clothes in his lap. He looked up at Frank, guilt plastered all over his face. Frank's heart softened for a second. Only for a second.

"How in the fuck did you not think there was another human in here? I left you a fucking voicemail!"

Gerard looked hurt, "It's obvious that I haven't heard it, or that wouldn't have happened."

"Why weren't you here anyway?"

"It's a rainy day. I went out to visit Sophie. Why are you here?"

"City accidentally turned our water off." Frank glared at him, lifting his towel up, "You would've known that if you were here."

"So now I can't go outside?" Gerard scoffed, standing up and putting Frank's clothes on the chair.

"You hardly let me out of your clutches, so might as well do the same." Frank dared to walk closer, "I might as well believe you did it to see me."

"To see you!?" His voice rose, "Is this what's this is about!? You think I'm onto you!?"

"You've been hinting at it for weeks! I wouldn't call the whole war thing very subtle!" Frank yelled, "Thinking I'm someone like you."

"What do you mean," Gerard spat through clenched teeth, "someone like me?"

Frank's filter was gone and he regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, "A horny ass fag who's got nobody to love and never will."

Frank barely knew what hit him. Gerard had him shoved against the wall so fast, he didn't even have time to comprehend how dangerous Gerard was with his vampire powers back and all. He could easily rip Frank's throat out. Gerard was so close to Frank that he could see each individual eyelash.

"Gerard, I- please-"

"Never speak to me that way. Never!" He shoved Frank harder against the wall. Frank let out a scared cry.

Gerard stared at Frank, his face falling. Tears welled in his eyes. His anger and his strength. Two downsides to having the powers back. He could hurt people and not even know it. He drew away from Frank and backed away slowly, tears already pouring. He put his face in his hands and sat down on the chair. Frank lifted his towel, not really sure how to react.

"Gerard, I was mad- I didn't- I didn't mean what I said. I'm so sorry." He said as he approached.

Gerard didn't answer right away. He just sniffed and looked at his hands. He glanced at Frank, smiling. He let out a dark laugh, "All of this," he gestured, "all of this because I saw 2 milliseconds of your dick."

Frank sat on the ground next to him and stared at his hands as well. He felt awful. People made fun of him all the time. It was borderline harassment. And what did Frank do? He did the same thing to Gerard. But he didn't feel good about it at all. The kids that made fun of him always looked like it was the best moment of their lives, but Frank just guessed it was because he cared about Gerard, whether or not he wanted to.

"I'm sorry." Frank repeated, his voice quiet, "I'm going through a lot and I know it's not an excuse."

"I think we both are." Gerard rested his elbows on his thighs, looking down at Frank.

Frank didn't meet his eyes but he did lean towards him, "I really am sorry."

"I'm aware," Gerard laughed, "I accept your apology, but just... don't do it again."

"I won't. I promise." Frank met his gaze, "I don't even know why I said that. People say the same things to me. I, uh, had a bad day."

"How so, Frankie?" His voice was soft and sweet, comforting.

Frank exhaled and looked back at his hands, "I cried almost all day. There's something wrong with me."

"We all have those days-"

"Yeah but," Frank cut off his broken record statement, "this isn't normal. I think it has to do with..."

Frank rubbed his neck and Gerard stared at him, "Me?"

"Well that's the only thing that makes sense to me. I used to be really confident and kinda out there, you know? I was basically full of myself. But now all my confidence is gone and I'm really quiet. I've tried to go out of my shell like I used to be, but I felt so sick. Jamia was one of the few that noticed something was off. Like, ugh, I used to be really positive about myself and now it's like... well today was basically a really long mental breakdown." Frank shrugged, growing shy.

"Hey," Gerard offered, putting a hand on his shoulder. Frank almost drew back due to his current state, "I know this probably doesn't help any of our cases, but I think you're amazing, really. And maybe it was for the best? I know that sometimes people will change after vampires... do their thing. Maybe your case is so you can learn to love yourself modestly!"

"This fucking pain I feel in my chest doesn't feel worth the process." Frank admitted, shying away from Gerard's hand.

Gerard drew back feeling that longing he wish he could get rid of, "I'm sorry, Frank. It just has to be this way."

"It doesn't have to!" Frank yelled suddenly. Gerard jumped, "None of this has to happen. I could run away and never look back. I could leave my mother to fend for herself. I could leave Jamia friendless." Frank's cold eyes pierced Gerard, "And I could leave you hungry. I could leave today if I wanted to. Nothing is stopping me."

"B-but you won't, right?" Gerard looked at him, a weird feeling in his stomach.

"Why not?" Frank chuckled, "What's there to stay for? I'm just a vessel. A walking blood bank for you. That's all I am."

Gerard went quiet, "You're wrong."

Frank narrowed his eyes, "What?"

"You're wrong." He repeated, "You're more than a vessel to me."

"H-how so?"

He laughed, "You know very well what I mean."

"Oh." Frank blushed.

"Frank," He leaned in close to him, "I know you didn't mean what you said but... are you, um, 'someone like me'?"

His breath caught it his throat cause holy living fuck he was really close. Frank found himself staring at the freckles on his face. He was surprised he still had some, but he was frozen in time after all. He looked down at Gerard's lips involuntarily and suddenly had an urge he's never even thought of before.

"Like you...?" Frank glanced back up to meet his eyes, "I don't know."

Gerard tilted Frank's head up with his fingertips, "Experimentation is key in discovery."

He started to lean in but Frank shook his head, pulling back a bit, "I'm scared."

"Should... I stop?"

Frank didn't speak but he nodded. Gerard pulled back and tried to hide his disappointment. Frank took in a breath and stood up. He talked quietly, "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing." Gerard waved it away.

Frank grew frustrated, "No, but it was. It's just- I'm not exactly dressed."

"Oh." Gerard handed Frank his clothes, "Here."

He took them and walked towards the dressing screen, "Thank you."

Frank's mind was static. He had no idea what was happening and his body felt like air or even lighter than it. He stood there for a moment, fully clothed, until his cell phone snapped him from his daze. It was a text from Matt seeing if he'd like to stop by the market because he saw his car parked in the church parking lot. Frank smiled at it and told him he would be there in a few. When he walked out from behind the screen, Gerard was still there. He was standing against the wall with his hair in his face and his hands fidgeting with the bottom of his sleeve. Frank thought for a moment and just said fuck it.

"Um, I actually gotta meet someone..." Frank coughed.

Gerard looked up, "Hmm? Oh. I'll show you out then."

"Thank you." Frank offered him a smile.

He didn't return it.

They walked down the stairs in silence. It was the same as they walked passed the pews. The eerie sounds of Frank's shoes against the floor was all he heard. Gerard held the door open for him and even stepped out onto the porch with him, staring up at the sky with that longing expression that made Frank's stomach churn. Remember earlier when Frank thought fuck it? Well this is what he meant.

He turned to Gerard and without warning grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss. Gerard sort of made a noise but kissed back almost immediately. Frank let go of his face and wrapped his arms around Gerard's neck. He felt his arms wrap around Frank's waist. He smiled into the kiss, which was drawing out longer than both of them intended. Frank somehow slipped his tongue into the game and now both of them were sort of making out on the front step of a Catholic Church. If Frank wasn't so caught up, well, he would've laughed. One of Gerard's hands was in Frank's hair now and he didn't want to admit it but that felt amazing.

Frank pulled away slowly, eyes closed. He was on cloud 9. Gerard giggled, brushing some of Frank's hair away from his face, causing his eyes to flutter open. They stared at each other for a bit, eyes wide.

"I-I better go. Um, my friend-" Frank cut himself off, not really wanting to leave anymore.

"Yeah. Uh, don't wanna keep them waiting." Gerard smiled and sent Frank off with a soft kiss on the cheek.

...

"Yo! Frankie, over here!" Matt called out to him in the parking lot.

Frank jogged over to him. Matt pulled him in for a short hug. Frank was glad to see Matt, really. He didn't have a lot of friends, but he felt as if Matt was here to stay.

"So I'm on break right now, wanna get something to eat?" Matt leaned against his car and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Frank winced, "I don't have my wallet with me, though."

Matt waved it away, "I got promoted to manager today. I'm fucking loaded. And plus, you look like you haven't eaten all day. Scrawny bitch."

Frank laughed, "Yeah. I kinda forgot that humans are supposed to eat."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What am I gonna do with you? Might as well raise you as my own." He rolled his eyes at Frank.

He laughed again, "Might as well."

"Really? Well then rule number one," He smirked at Frank, "No making out with your vampire boyfriend within my line of sight."

Frank gasped, "You saw!?"

Matt burst into laughter, "I'm sure the whole town did! On the porch of a church... You should know better. Anyway, so I'm taking it that you and vampy hit it off, yeah? 'I wouldn't date him' my ass."

"We aren't even dating," Frank blushed, "We just kissed today."

"Oh! So I witnessed your guys' first kiss? Aww. That's so sweet I think I threw up a little." Matt yanked the car door open, "Now get your ass in there, loverboy. We're getting tacos."

 


	10. Chapter 10

Frank was more than nervous about hanging out with Jamia. It wasn't even like a date, really. Frank liked boys and so did Jamia. They were just going to drive to Frank's and play video games and maybe get slushies. But he knew that Gerard would throw a fit if he found out that he still had friends. At one point he was so invested in his inner turmoil that he actually ran head first into a pole. His head still hurt and when he went into the bathroom, there was a visible bump. After the pole incident, he had texted Matt about what to do and he was in no way helpful, replying 'idk frnk tell her u fucked the local priest' and the continuing, saying 'or tell her he's a vamp'. He wouldn't do the former because that was an utter lie. But he took the last one into consideration. Perhaps she could give some feminine advice...?

"Frank!" Jamia caught Frank before he fell down a flight of stairs, his focus on his cell phone. He looked from his phone to her to the stairs and back to his phone, smiling guiltily. She simply shook her head and lifted an accusing eyebrow.

"Texting the president there, Frank?" She crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.

"No, I was just texting my friend Matt. He, um, was off early and was talking about a conspiracy theory in which aliens run-" he shook his head, "Never mind. Anyway. Sup?"

"Sup." She agreed, laughing, "Watch where you're going. I think we'd better get you a leash. Ray told me he saw you run into a pole?"

Frank pursed his lips and laughed, "So that's who was snickering behind me. Didn't even ask if I was okay."

She waved it away, holding back a laugh, her grin probably painful, "Grudges aside, you alright?"

He considered it for a moment, making a weird face as he thought, Jamia lifting a confused eyebrow. He clicked his tongue and said, "Haha, no."

"Are you being sarcastic or...?" She looked him up and down.

He shrugged, standing next to her, "Both, I guess."

There was a silence.

"So, um, video games and slushies?" She offered, breaking the silence.

Frank nodded and led her to his car, making an excuse for the trash on the floor. She merely didn't care and said her car was the same way, except the trash was probably older because she hardly drove the thing. The only thing making noise in the car was his radio, buzzing in and out of range, catching bits of what sounded like The Black Keys. Frank took the ten minute ride to think about the consequences. About three days ago, Gerard 'fed' on him or whatever. It sounded weird even in his head. So that was out of the question as a punishment. He always gave Frank a week in between for recovery and well, it took a week till he got hungry again. Like some sort of snake. Worst case scenario, Gerard just threw a fit and scared Frank a bit. Best case? Best case would mean Gerard was understanding that humans are social creatures and need interaction to survive. Frank didn't want Gerard to be the be-all-end-all of his friend group. There were certain things he didn't think were appropriate conversation with Gerard. For example, the other day Ray and Frank had a conversation about sexual things and that would've been embarrassing if he had that discussion with Gerard. It's kinda like telling your mom about your sex life; there's just some things you don't do.

Frank and Jamia eventually ended up at the gas station, getting out to get slushies. He took a medium sized cup while Jamia decided she needed 42 ounces of frozen fun. Frank was deep in thought while they chose different flavors and the thought at the front of his mind decided to announce itself to Jamia.

"What would you do if I told you I was gay?" He blurted, filling the rest of his cup with cherry.

She glanced at him before putting Mountain Dew in her cup, "Then Ray owes me ten bucks."

Frank blinked, almost dropping his cup, "What?"

"Yeah, well, half the town saw you with your priest 'friend'. Surprised the mayor doesn't know." She snorted, "Ray doesn't believe in rumors so we made a bet. I win if you are."

"Then you're ten closer to a million." Frank mumbled, slightly embarrassed that he had kissed Gerard in the first place. But it just felt so... right when he had kissed him.

She smiled sadly at Frank, "Hey, um, it doesn't change how we are. I mean, you're still Frank! At least, I hope."

"Yeah. Just a little gayer." He smirked and she hit him, rolling her eyes.

They didn't talk on their way to Frank's house. Jamia tried, of course, she was worried for his well being, seeing how distraught he looked while he thought. But eventually she stopped, giving up with a sigh. The radio played classic punk hits, ranging from Offspring to some bands Frank forgot how much he liked, making a mental note to add the songs to his iPod. Silence between him and Jamia would've driven him insane; the music made it easier for him to deal with his feelings. When they got there, Frank's mother was passed out on the couch, some soap opera playing on the TV. Jamia giggled as he turned the TV off and tucked the blanket around her. He gave Jamia a mini tour of the house, whispering in hushed tones as he made sarcastic comments that made her laugh. They made it up to his room and Jamia went all serious on him, demanding he tell her why he was so closed off. His face fell and he sat down on the edge of his bed, patting it so she could sit next to him. She did.

"I'm not even going to sugar coat this one bit and it might sound like I'm insane, but please let me explain, alright?" She nodded and he looked at his hands, closing his eyes, "Father Way is a... vampire and I'm sort of his blood bank."

She blinked, "What?"

He laughed pointedly, "I-I'll, uh, show you the pictures..."

He quickly got up and searched for his camera, his head buzzing a million miles a minute. Gerard would kill him, he knew he would. At this point in time, he really didn't care. And that worried him. He dug it out from his school bag, the thing turning on with a shrill sound of digital chimes. He sat back down next to her and showed her the most graphic photo she had ever seen. It was grotesque: the purples, blues, and greens mixing in with the dried blood made for a horrid sight. She covered her mouth with her hand involuntarily. She moved away Frank's hair and looked at his neck, confusion plastered on her face.

"How is it not...?" She couldn't find her words.

"He's a freak. They have weird ass powers that don't make any sense." He sighed and began a speech about Gerard's powers and mood swings. She listened to every single one of his words, hanging on every syllable. She asked questions too that she hoped didn't seem ridiculous to him. Thankfully he didn't and he just answered them, kind of glad that she was into the conversation. He felt sick to his stomach. Gerard would find out somehow. He was just that way.

"But can you tell me why you're so upset?" She snaked an arm around his waist and he leaned into the touch, thankful for the comfort.

"He's closing me off to people because he doesn't want others to know about it. He's- and I'm-" he cut himself off, gasping at his realization, "I kissed him."

"Half of the town knows that, Frank. No offense but only an idiot would dare make a move like that." she paused while he nodded guiltily, "And isn't that a little weird? Him being 110 and all?"

"106," he corrected, "But I don't know... when I'm with him he doesn't feel like that. He just feels like him. He looks 26 and talks and walks like he is. But I know it's wrong in so many ways. He scares me."

Her jaw clenched, "How so?"

"He's threatened my friends before but I believe him sometimes. That it's better off that I'm secluded. That I'm better off with him, living in his fucked up life. I've tried to turn the tables and threaten him but... but he always looks so broken and just-" he cut himself off again and stared at his hands, "I think I'm falling in love with him."

There was a silence.

"It shouldn't hurt this much. The reason why it hurts is because I don't know what I want or what I'm going to do. I've even... I've even attempted suicide." Jamia's face saddened and he sighed, "But when we have our moments, like him reading to me or talking sweet, sometimes I think what it would be like to be with him in a perfect world. Sexually and romantically."

"Experimenting is natural, if that's what you're hooked on,"

Frank gestured pointedly, "But I don't want to use him for my own enjoyment, you know? Cause what if it's just a crush and then... things could get... dangerous."

"What I really think is that you should talk to him. If you don't, well, things will just get even more complicated than they already are."

"You're taking this whole Gerard vampire thing easier than I expected." Frank chuckled, "But thank you."

"I sort of guessed something was off about the guy. And I kinda believe in the supernatural, but don't tell anyone, okay?"

Frank giggled at that, "My lips are sealed."

...

"Hey," Jamia stopped him before he got out of the car, "Be careful."

Frank nodded, "Thank you for driving me."

She smiled and rolled her eyes, "Next time you should really pay attention to the check engine light. It's there for a reason."

Frank laughed. He was so used to all the flashing lights to the point of them becoming basic background things, combining in with the strange sputtering from the hood. The car was in the shop now, being checked over and fixed. Thank god Frank had insurance and only had to pay a small fraction of it. He was relieved when the bill was only 150 dollars. Without insurance, he would've had to pay the full price. He shivered at the thought. He would've had to do weird adult things like applying for a loan. That sounded absolutely horrendous.

"Yeah, but still."

"You're welcome, Frankie." She beamed.

He got out of the car and almost started off to the church before Jamia rolled down her window. Frank leaned against the car door, a tiny smirk on his face. She wished him luck once again and he nodded, thanking her again. Frank strided up to the church after Jamia pulled out of the parking lot. As soon as her car disappeared, he felt an overwhelming pressure on him. He could've sworn he saw the clouds darken. He took a deep breath and opened the church doors, surprised to see Gerard sitting down on a pew, back to him, hands clasped in a silent prayer. Frank approached him carefully, sliding into the pew as well. Frank didn't want to say something that might throw Gerard off, so he stayed silent and stared at him. The stained glass was in perfect position, Gerard's outline colorful and dark all at the same time. He had a stern look on his face, his eyes closed tightly and his eyebrows draw together. Frank couldn't see his lips because his hands covered them, but he guessed they were pursed. He really wish he could take a picture of him like that. If Frank didn't know him, he would've been on his knees. Well, not like he wouldn't do that if the circumstances were different, anyway. He looked beautiful, he'd admit that.

Suddenly his eyes opened and he glanced over at Frank, not turning his head. Frank smiled at him and Gerard closed his eyes again, saying something under his breath before standing up. He walked over to the colored window, Frank on his trail. Frank sort of felt serene, not understanding why he felt so anxious. It was quiet in the church and he was warming up by the non direct sunlight. Frank had closed his eyes, sighing, trying to calm himself down a bit. Little did he know that Gerard had hell blazing in his veins.

"You're an idiot!" He screamed suddenly, kicking the nearby pew with so much force, it slid about three feet from where it originally was, knocking another pew onto it's side.

Frank's eyes shot open almost immediately, reeling back in surprise at first, not quite sure why he had this sudden fit of anger. Gerard turned to him, not looking directly at him, but walking closer. His back bumped a wall and that's when the panic kicked in. He was dead. Gerard looked as if he could commit murder, and from the way he pulled at his hair and locked eyes with Frank proved him right. Gerard was strong now. Stronger than Frank wanted him to be. He was constantly terrified of him.

"I can't believe you!" He practically screamed at Frank, "Jamia?! You can't have people like that!"

"And why not!? Why can't I have people that make me feel good in my life?" Frank shot back, holding his tears back. Yelling always brought back memories he wished he could forget.

"Don't even pull that with me!" He dared closer, "You know why you can't have people close to you. Someone could find out."

"People already know, Gerard." Frank said his name like it was poison on his tongue, "Remember? Matt was the one to make me get in this mess- telling me that you're a vampire. And I told Jamia. She didn't believe me until I showed her the photos of my neck I took without you knowing."

Again, Frank was shoved against a wall by Gerard. This time he didn't squeak in fear and Gerard didn't have a mood swing and shy away from him. He kept Frank this way as he stared straight into his soul.

"I have to do things because of you. I'm probably going to have to repeat history, Frank. Runs in the family, right?" Gerard laughed darkly to himself, "And Jamia? Well, I'll figure something out. Just as long as she stays quiet, I'm fine."

"You aren't." Frank said, voice strangled, "You're jealous of her. You want me to yourself."

"Damn right I do! If I lost you... things would go horribly wrong. You'd die at my hand." Gerard's eyes glinted darkly.

Frank didn't flinch. He knew it was coming, "Kill me! Do it! I'd like to see you fucking try. I know you love me. You can't kill something you love. Hell, I hate myself and I can't even do it!"

"You've tried to kill yourself?" Gerard's grip loosened a bit.

Frank stood up straight and Gerard pushed him firmly back against the wall, "Yeah? Wouldn't you? Stuck in this damn game? I always hold the gun in my right hand, loaded and everything. I'll have my finger on the trigger and the note ready, but every time it comes for me to pull... something stops me. I don't live for you. I don't live for my mother. I don't know who I live for. But I sure would love to die."

"Frank- don't- don't do this." His voice was quiet.

"Don't do what? Tell you the truth? Truth makes you stop." Frank stared at him.

"Tell me another truth, then." He met Frank's eyes, desperation and sadness practically radiating off of them, "Do you love me?"

Well, that wasn't what I was expecting, Frank thought.

He paused, "I don't know."

Gerard was very close now and Frank didn't mind. His body suddenly got very warm. He knew this feeling. He got it a lot recently once he figured out that what he felt towards Gerard. Lust.

"But," Frank added on, "I want you."

"How so?" Gerard's hands slid down to his wrists from his shoulders.

Frank let Gerard pin him to the wall like that and smiled, "I think you know."

And Gerard did know. He kissed Frank hard, the boy letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Frank kissed Gerard back with an open mouth eagerly. This could go one of two ways: sex or blood. At that point in time, he didn't know which was better. Gerard broke the kiss mumbling praises to Frank on how he was being so 'cooperative minus the outbreaks'. Frank decided to take it as a compliment. He kissed down Frank's jaw and onto his neck, bruising the sensitive skin before poking two holes into it, Frank holding back his screams. It didn't hurt more or less, it just felt... weird. He decided to call it a... reverse orgasm. It was intense all at once and slowly turned into small bursts. But he didn't know if what he felt was pain or pleasure. Frank gripped onto Gerard, whimpering helplessly. He would have to spend the night there again so no other 'oh god what is that on your neck' incidents happened again. He slid his hands to Gerard's chest, slowly unbuttoning his shirt, tracing his hands against the newly found skin. Frank had seen it before, all the scars, but they felt even more cool than they looked. Frank pulled Gerard closer to his body, not really sure why he was so confident or so desperate. Gerard had detached himself from Frank by then. He wiped his mouth off on his sleeve and decided to kiss Frank again. He tasted iron among other things. It was blood and to make it even more kinky, it was his blood. Frank was just about to unbutton Gerard's pants when something shattered in the distance.

"Way!" A familiar voice called.

Gerard whipped around, practically shoving himself off of Frank, to see his fellow colleague- Father Mark. The sight Mark saw was one in a million. He had witnessed Gerard feeling up the errand boy after sucking blood from him. He could've sworn he was drunk, but he forgot he hadn't had one drop of liquor that day. Gerard stood shocked before him, shirt undone and blood smeared. Father Mark started chanting something in what Frank thought was latin but when it had no effect on Gerard, he squinted at him.

"What are you?" He spat.

"I'm Gerard! Father Way? Your bitch?" Gerard laughed, "Sorry to break it to you so... sexually, but I'm a vampire!" Sarcasm dripped from his tongue, almost tangible. Frank was surprised he wasn't laughing as he spoke.

Frank slid down the wall, his lightheadedness and arousal getting to him. He swallowed and watched the scene unfold before him. They argued more, Mark accusing Gerard of witchcraft and satan worship. Gerard simply laughed and told him what he was again, trying to convince him what he was doing wasn't wrong. But when Mark threw in pedophilia, Gerard snapped, screaming at him on how Frank was a legal adult. Frank nodded tiredly in agreement, but no one was paying much attention to him. He put his hand to his neck and applied pressure, trying to stop some of the blood flow.

"I can't have someone like you here." Father Mark spat at Gerard, "I'll get a team, I'll tell everyone what you are and we'll kill you."

"As if you think I'll let you go? Sorry, but when someone unwanted knows who I am, well... Tell Jesus I said hi."

Frank bolted up and tried to scream. He didn't want anyone dead because of this. But he was too late. Gerard lunged at him and shoved him to the ground. Mark fought back, trying to push Gerard off of him but then he took Mark's head in his hands and- the snapping sound was the worst sound Frank had ever heard. He could already see the nightmares. Mark stopped moving, gone limp beneath Gerard. He watched as Gerard got off of him, glaring bullets at his body while breathing heavily. He didn't even know he was violently shaking until Gerard came up to him and held him, Frank crying into Gerard's bare chest.

"It's all my fault." He chanted under his breath.


	11. Chapter 11

He was a sad mess. Anyone who passed him on the street gave him a wide berth and avoided any and all eye contact. He relapsed, using his old fake ID that he forgot he even had to begin with. He made it a few years back but the fake expiration date hadn't expired yet. He had gotten out of his house, a tear stained mess, and bought beer in bulk, downing at least half of the load he had purchased. His drunk mind forced him to smile dopily at every stranger walking into town on a late Friday night. He felt on the clouds, dancing to the music playing in his head. He didn't really know where he was walking or why he didn't go back home so he didn't get into something he might regret.

He found himself peeking into Matt's work, staring through the windows to see nothing but darkness and the shadows of shelves, the moonlight making weird creatures appear in Frank's eyes. What he was really staring at was the shadow of the register but his own mind scared him, causing him to back away, jumping at the grotesque shape of his own shadow. Once he realized what was at fault, he laughed.

"My own shadow," He slurred, giggling.

He saw the church in the distance, deciding to pay Gerard a visit. His drunk mind had forgotten all about not seeing Gerard for a little more than a week, vowing to never look him in the eye. For the longest time, he had wondered how he managed to get the blood off his hands. Little did he know that Gerard wasn't new at this game. He planned on closing down the church again. He was waiting to this weekend, standing in the sunlight to get used to the needles feeling as he stood at the front. But he could never get used to that. So, in the end, he decided sunscreen would have to do.

As of now Gerard was in the middle of blow drying his hair, as he had nothing better to do with his time. He didn't sleep, after all. He had taken his night as his spa night, cleaning himself of past regrets and sad thoughts. It had worked for the most part, smiling as he stared at his warped reflection. He felt better about himself, staring at the scars on his body with a new found pride rather than fear or anger. He had survived. And those scars were a memory of how strong he was. He put his hair dryer down, satisfied with how dry his hair had turned out. He bought a bunch of beauty products in some sort of therapeutic shopping spree. The new hair dryer definitely worked better than the old one.

He hummed along to the songs that were playing on his radio, running some hair care lotion through his hair, surprised when his hair turned out soft and silky looking. Now he was really glad that he spent 25 bucks for just the one bottle. It was worth it. He put away his things and cleaned up the bathroom, stopping in the middle of picking up a towel, listening for the noise he just heard. His thoughts traveled to Mark at first before remembering what he had done. He let the towel drop back onto the floor, slowly creeping down the stairs and into the hallway. He reached the pews and sighed, shocked still, but glad it was just Frank, who was rubbing his knee and glaring at a pew.

"...Frank?" his head shot up and he smiled like a dork, the effects of his one person party not even close to gone, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Came see you." He slurred yet again, Gerard sighing once he took in his pitifully drunk form.

Frank walked up to Gerard, the latter expecting maybe a hug but not what happened next. He started running his hands over some of the scars on his chest. Gerard grew red, swatting him away, "Frank- what- stop!"

"Huh uh." He responded, genuinely concerned "How'd you get these, Gee? Do they hurt?" He started running his hands lower, towards some of the smaller scars near his navel.

Needless to say, Gerard freaked out, "Get off!" He pushed Frank away but only for Frank to come right back, this time running his hands over the ones on his back. Gerard could put up with his back being touched, but his fucking navel? Nope, no way. Especially if it was Frank doing the sensual- but sort of caring- touching. After a bit of fussing over Gerard's body, Frank leaned all his weight on him, resting his arms on his shoulders, nudging Gerard's neck with his face.

"Are you drunk?" Gerard sort of laughed, feeling rather nervous.

"I don't know. Are you drunk?" He giggled.

"Take that as a yes." Gerard mumbled, "You know what I find funny?"

Gerard turned Frank towards him, Frank automatically putting his hands on the back of Gerard's neck, his fingers tangled into the hair with ease. Gerard fought off an affectionate smile, "What do you find funny?"

"You only call me Gee when you're in a drunken state." He met Frank's eyes, seeing they were wide and almost sad.

"You want me to call you it more when I'm not?" He asked, rubbing circles onto the back of his neck, Gerard trying not to lean into him. This, in general, was just so hard. He loved the feeling of Frank's skin touching his and he knew it was wrong. They both did and Frank was heavily intoxicated.

Gerard nodded in response to his question and tried to get out of his grip only for Frank to furrow his eyebrows confusedly and try to get closer, ending in Gerard tripping over Frank's foot, catching himself on a pew, Frank pressed against his chest. Frank forgot how to breathe while Gerard resisted kissing him. Frank finally looked up at Gerard instead of at his bare chest, his slightly less drunk mind realizing what was happening. He was off balance, grabbing the back of Gerard's neck and forcing his lips onto Gerard's, pulling him to his knees and deepening the kiss. It was sloppy and heated, Frank digging his fingertips into the flesh on Gerard's back. Gerard broke the kiss, his not-so-boyfriend gasping for air before pressing his mouth onto Gerard's neck, the latter's face contorting in pleasure silently, tilting his head back so Frank had more access.

"Frank," he rasped, pushing Frank off of him, "I can't. You're drunk."

"Fuck that," he replied, waving it off as if it was that easy, "Who said I wanted to fuck you, huh? Maybe... maybe just make out naked?" Frank stared at Gerard's pained expression before sighing and laying down on the cold ground, "Are you hungry?"

"Generally," Gerard admitted, "But you have alcohol in your system. I might as well drink as much as you did."

"I hate science." Frank declared, waving his left arm dramatically.

"Agreed." Gerard said without thinking before realizing what Frank meant, "Wait, what? Do you... I thought you hated it when I..."

"Call me a loser but I just like having you that close. Makes me feel, oh- I don't know... wanted? Needed?" He closed his eyes and let out a sharp breath, "Who am I kidding, really?"

Gerard blinked, "What?"

"God, Gerard," he moaned, "Are you that oblivious?" Frank watched him nod with a shrug. He rolled his eyes and continued nonetheless, "I really like you. I just wanna be fucking normal!" He huffed rubbing his eyes, "I wanna do stuff that I would do if we were normal. Like fucking romance shit. Like holding hands on the roof and looking at stars. Or sing to my Pandora station while we clean parts of the church before Sunday. Or make out in the back of my car and listen to my favorite songs. And god I would kill to dance in the rain with you and not have to worry about anything. No vampire shit. No age gap. No fucking rumors. You know that half of this goddamn town knows about my love life?" He removed his hands from his eyes to stare at Gerard who was staring back intensely, "It sucks. Everything sucks. My fucking life sucks."

Gerard huffed and laid on the ground too. He couldn't say anything to make it better because he was the root of these issues. It was sad to say that he agreed. His life sucked, Literally. He looked back at Frank who seriously looked pained. His eyes were wide and sad, his mouth in some sort of forlorn pout. Gerard sighed and turned onto his side, Frank scooting closer only a bit. They just stared at each other for a second, waiting for the other to make a move. In the end, it was Frank who leaned in and kissed Gerard softly. It wasn't desperate or heated. It was slow and sweet and maybe just a bit sad. Longing and yearning for one another filled them from head to toe. Bittersweet, if you asked Frank, who honestly felt like crying or yelling or destroying the furniture around him. He just hurt so bad and had no one to talk to. Maybe Jamia but even then, would she even care? Boys- boys aren't supposed to cry.

Gerard ran his hands through Frank's hair, breathing him in. Frank whined and parted from the kiss, smiling at Gerard, this time less drunkenly.

...

When Frank opened his eyes the next day, he was met with Gerard sitting next to him on the cot, reading his favorite book again. He tried to sit up but groaned. His neck hurt like a bitch. He looked over at the man next to him and sighed, "What... happened?"

"Morning to you too," he chuckled, "I was going to drive you home but you passed out on the church floor."

"I remember that, I meant my neck." He clarified, sitting up finally and running his hands through his hair. Man, when he got home, he was seriously taking a shower. He stared at Gerard for a bit, watching his face turn from relaxed to guilty in a second flat. Frank noticed a large purple mark on his neck and suspected it was him at fault. He smiled to himself, "Whatever. I seemed to have gotten you back, though. Can vampires even get hickies?" He asked, poking the bruise and earning a noise from Gerard.

"Fuck, don't do that." He swatted Frank's hand away, "Apparently so. And, uh, sorry. It was just getting really hard to control myself and you didn't wake up. It's already healed. Sorry."

"I said whatever." Frank kicked the sheets off of himself, "I think I'm gonna leave."

Gerard froze, "But- but you just woke up. I was going to make you breakfast or something. To make up for what I, uh, did. Raise blood sugar levels and stuff."

He sighed at the ceiling and nodded, "Alright. What's on the menu?"

Frank felt strange after he said this and it was probably his inner self suggesting it, but he almost wanted Gerard to say 'you'. Of course, he didn't- he was Gerard- but at least he was going to have pancakes. He followed him to the kitchen and yawned, watching Gerard go about his business from the counter. He was reminded of the first time he slept over here and how strange it had been. So much tension and awkwardness. And now, even if they mostly did it while Frank wasn't sober, they had kissed and had done other things. Gerard mostly pretended that they never happened. Frank thought it lame that he always had to make the first move, but sometimes it felt cool- being in control and such. He sighed and hopped off the counter, coming up behind Gerard and wrapping his arms around his waist, resting his head on his shoulder.

Gerard had jumped, almost knocking over the mixing bowl, "Frank-! What- is there something wrong?"

"No," he replied and for maybe the first time it felt like he was speaking the truth.

"Then what's up?" He turned around, Frank's arms still laying gently across his waist.

Frank pulled him closer, touching their foreheads together. Gerard laid his hands carefully on Frank's chest, blushing wildly. Frank closed his eyes and smiled, "Nothing, Gee. Just wanted to be close. I'm sorry I'm not as much as you'd like me to be."

Gerard smiled at the nickname merely because Frank remembered what he told him last night. He closed his eyes too for fear of going cross eyed trying to look at him. He sighed and ran a hand through Franks hair, "Its okay, Frankie, dear."

And suddenly, to Gerard's surprise, their mouths collided. Frank at first wanted nothing to really do with Gerard this morning but now with just a few thoughts, all that changed. Not only did he want to stay, he wanted Gerard. And it had been about time too. Both of them could taste the sexual tension.

Frank carefully pressed Gerard against the island in the middle of the kitchen, grazing his tongue at the bottom of Gerard's lip as permission to access make out territory. Gerard of course obliged, sort of a sucker for Franks make outs. He just loved the way their bodies fit so nicely together and how he was just so in love. He couldn't help but smile into the kiss, humming happily when he felt Frank do the same.

Frank didn't know if he was in love with Gerard or simply the idea if him. Sure, the thought of them together seemed amazing, but that was only in a perfect world. But, in the end, if he couldn't have him forever, he could have him right now.

Gerard was the first one to ask to remove clothing, tugging at the hem of Frank's shirt. He broke the kiss and stared at Gerard with bedroom eyes as he did so. Gerard's hands soaked in the surface, carefully grazing his chest with his fingertips, causing Frank's skin to tingle.

Dear god, this felt so good. Sure, Gerard's hands were cold, but it was also so goddamn warm. He was barely touching his chest and the almost sensation of it made Frank shudder and exhale deeply. He wanted this so bad and showed Gerard this by kissing him deeply and reaching for his belt. Gerard leaned into Frank for a moment, really wanting this to go where it seemed to be going, but he pulled away and rested his head against Frank's chest.

"That one day," he breathed, "with the story? I wasn't lying when I said I hated this position. Can- can we move somewhere else?"

Frank processed this forms second before moving away to look at Gerard, "Um, yeah! Yeah, um, where do you want to move it to?"

"Is the couch by the- the, um, balcony work?" He was nervous at first but then something hit him when he noticed how... frustrated Frank was, "I think it'd be a great view while we... get to business." He said darkly, smirking and staring up at Frank, tracing a finger down his chest.

"Holy- fuck, yes." Frank sputtered, more than turned on at that point. He went to wrap his arms around his waist to lead him up there but Gerard pulled away, holding up a finger.

"My office!" He said shortly, Frank not catching on.

"You want to-"

"No! Wait here- I'll- I'll be right back." He motioned for him to stay and ran quickly to his office, digging through his many drawers, finding a bottle and a box he hadn't used in quite a long time. Sad, really. But now he had an excuse to use them.

When he reached Frank again, he held up the bottle of lube and the box of condoms with a big proud-of-himself smile. Frank couldn't help but laugh and pick him up bridal style, calling him a nerd. He somehow managed to carry the man up to the indoor balcony and place him onto the couch. Gerard dropped the supplies he brought and giggled, pulling Frank on top of him, forcing him to straddle him.

Frank stared down at Gerard and was utterly amazed. His hair was a mess but in the best possible way, creating a black halo around his head. His eyes were wide and expectant, looking about as in love as ever. He was biting his lip, trying his best not to giggle because Frank looked really impressed, mouth open and all. Gerard moved his arms up so Frank could pin him if he wanted to, but instead he leaned down and kissed him sweetly. He trailed the kisses down to Gerard's neck and started to leave more bruises there. Gerard arched up a bit, holding onto Frank's bicep. Frank had leaned down, resting his weight on his forearms, tangling his hands in Gerard's hair.

"Oh my gooooood." Gerard moaned into Frank's shoulder, the sounds echoing off of the empty church walls.

Frank detached himself from Gerard's neck when he felt satisfied. He stared down at him and smiled, holding back a laugh because Gerard's face was a shade of red and his eyes were shut tight. He was in a lot of pleasure right now. He finally opened his eyes and the two burst into giggles. Frank started playing with a button on Gerard's shirt.

"Can I take off your clothes?" He asked in a hushed and embarrassed voice, blushing up a storm. Gerard held back his giggles and nodded. Frank unbuttoned the shirt with ease and asked Gerard to sit up some so he could take it off. Gerard took that moment to steal a quick kiss from Frank. Well, he tried to, anyway. He had missed his mouth completely and ended up kissing the bridge of his nose. Frank still appreciated it, scrunching his nose up in a cute way before undoing Gerard's belt.

Eventually Gerard was in all his glory beneath Frank, who had yet to remove his pants. When the man under him voiced this, he quickly climbed off and kicked off his shoes, helplessly trying to get out of his jeans. Gerard watched with amusement, resting his head on his hand, smirking to himself. When Frank was finally in nothing but his underwear, just like Gerard, he climbed back onto him and froze, unsure of what to do next. He looked everywhere but Gerard's eyes for a second or two until he forced Frank to look at him by grabbing his chin.

"Hey," he smiled soothingly, making Frank sigh. At least he wasn't a poor sport about Frank being a total virgin, "Its okay, come on. Here," he let go of Frank's face to guide his hands to his waist. Frank pressed his fingertips onto his bare skin and closed his eyes, sighing. He opened his mouth to apologize but Gerard cut him off by rolling his hips and creating that friction that set off all of Frank's instincts.

Frank decided to press down his hips as well, colliding with Gerard in a way that caused the latter to groan. That meant something good. He tried to do it again but somehow failed, making Gerard wince and grab at one of Franks hands. He freaked out for a moment and got off of him again, reaching up towards his face. Fuck, this never happened in his fantasies. Gerard looked almost disappointed by the lack of weight on top of him but soon threw those thoughts away when he saw how distraught Frank looked.

"I'm sorry!" He said panicked, running his hands through his hair, "I just- I've never done this... with another person..." He sighed at the fact that he had just admitted his own defeat. All the lies he had said to his friends about losing his virginity made their way to the front of his mind and he groaned, covering his eyes with his hands so he didn't have to look at Gerard, "I can't do this..." He whispered to the floor, covering his mouth.

Gerard got up and pulled his hands away from his mouth, taking them into his own. Frank looked up at him and was relieved to see him smiling. He leaned in and kissed him gently, allowing Frank to loosen up more before he suddenly dropped to his knees, taking Frank's underwear with him. Frank stood stunned, holding onto the arm of the couch to balance himself because- holy fuck- Gerard was looking at him hungrily and he had a feeling his knees would give out if this continued the way he thought it would. No wonder Gerard hated this position, he must've fallen over before.

...

Frank bolted out of his nap and rubbed his face. He stared at his clock and sighed, flopping back onto his bed. It was 7pm. Good nap timing, Frank. He had decided to go back to bed when he finally made it home again. His mother wasn't happy to see him the way he looked, a little tired and a lot like sex. His hair was a rats nest, sticking up in all positions, and his outfit was thrown together lazily, his episode with Gerard had taken a lot from him. Long story short, Gerard had generally gotten Frank off. He tried to return the favor, he really did, but was just so nervous that was he was doing wasn't good enough or was hurting Gerard. But, he did end up getting him off as well with a shy blowjob and handjob combo. Thankfully Gerard was still grateful, praising Frank the best he could during the experience.

Frank still felt like a failure of a gay man but he guessed all felt that way.

He decided just to get up and face the facts- he had just had sort of sex with Gerard aka Father Way, the local not-so priest. His mom had that suspicion from the moment he walked into the house, asking him a million questions a minute. He had of course ignored her and told her he'd answer them once he woke back up. And now he was going to live up to that promise.

His mom was downstairs and watching a TV show that Frank couldn't care to remember. She turned it off once he sat down in the same room as her, sighing as her signal for her to start. She looked a mixture of ashamed and angry. He didn't blame her.

"Can you tell me the truth for once?" She asked and Frank nodded, "Did you or did you not do what I think you did with Father Way?"

Frank nodded again, not meeting her eyes.

She shut her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why, Frank? Why?"

"Cause I like him?" He shrugged, "I'd think its a valid reason. And if it makes you feel any better, it wasn't even that spectacular. I was too nervous and he was- well- I don't know. There wasn't any like- like, um, penetration or anything. I'm still a virgin, basically." He shrugged again and blushed a bright red, "Honestly, it could've gone better if I knew what the fuck I was doing."

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," she mumbled to herself, "Frank, you're 18. You're of consenting age. And you're gay, for crying out loud. How the hell do you not know anything? Don't you do normal teenage things like watch porn?"

"Wow. And this is coming from my mother. A fucking catholic. No, mom, I don't watch it. And usually single moms give their sons a talk about this kind of shit. So that's mostly on you." He paused and laughed to himself, "Am I seriously blaming this bad sexual experience on you?"

She hid a smile and sighed, "I've been distant in that area. But the whole gay thing? I don't mind as long as you don't have sex in my house. And just- be careful with Father Way. Don't you have any respect for yourself?" She said before getting up and leaving the room.

Frank didn't say anything back. He just watched her move until he couldn't see her anymore, jumping slightly at the sound if her door closing. That... That conversation went better than expected. Almost too well. He laughed hysterically to himself and rubbed his face again.

His life was a living hell, easy conclusion.


	12. Chapter 12

Jamia practically tackled Frank when he opened the door to his house, wrapping her cold and rain soaked arms around his neck. He carefully rose his hands to touch her back, not really sure what the hell was going on. When they had talked on the phone she sounded fine, maybe a little cautious, but fine nonetheless. It didn't take long for Frank to figure out that she was in fact not fine. She sniffed and buried her head into the crook of his neck, pulling away only moments later. She wore a long black raincoat, jeans, and a pair of faded grey shoes. Her long black hair was stuck to her face and neck, soaked.

Frank rushed her upstairs, quickly helping her warm up. He offered an electric blanket, a towel to dry her hair, and a cup of hot coffee. She sat cross legged next to Frank on his bed, blanket dropped over her shoulders, and mug in hand. She watched the steam roll off the coffee for a second or two before looking back up at Frank who was in the middle of picking something from between his teeth. He stopped when they made eye contact, laughing with her once he unfroze. It was really the stupid shit that made them happy nowadays.

Frank's life was complicated as all hell, in many ways, really, but Jamia's hidden affairs where extreme too. Frank knew the little things mostly because Jamia never talked about it. Her parents weren't absent like she had told Frank, they were quite the opposite. They were controlling and tended to hover over everything she did but that only made her better at being deceitful and sneaky. She had a 9pm curfew that she never obeyed since the age of 13, a bedtime she never slept during, and parental controls on her phone that she disabled years ago. Her parents knew nothing about the nights where she went out and tried to make a name for herself or the nights where all she would do was cry. Her parents guessed most of the shit she had done and punished her even for things she didn't do- like make the internet bill go up by 100 dollars. That was her fathers fault for staying up at ungodly hours and talking with women on their computer that her mother didn't know about. When Jamia found out and even threatened to tell her mother, her dad beat her into submission, just like he had done with multiple other things. She hardly ever showed people the bruises and covered them up the best she could with concealer, but today she wore nothing, ready to finally be vulnerable in front of one of the only people she trusted. She was going to tell her story and she was maybe going to cry like some weak fool but at this point, her father's words in her head were just words. She was going to make one of the biggest decisions ever but she had a feeling it would end well.

She looked back down at her coffee and cleared he throat, "I have... well, I have a few things I'd like to talk to you about? I just- you're the only person I trust besides Ray and.... I don't think he'd understand these things like you would."

Frank nodded, asking her to continue. She smiled faintly, "My, um, family hasn't been good. But no one's is these days. My father is cheating on my mom and my mom is as distant as ever, practically searching every bottom of every bottle for the meaning of life... My father beats me sometimes... I usually cover up the damage but," she rolled up her sleeves and showed Frank all of the bruises and faint scars on her arms. Frank looked as if he would throw up or go kill something. She carried on, "today I thought I would let you see it as it is. And I know your life kinda sucks, too, and..." she stared at a spot on the wall, "I mean you care about me, yeah?"

"Yeah I fucking do." Frank scoffed, "A lot, actually. But, thank you for telling me. I- uh- where is this going? You aren't like planning to hurt yourself-"

Jamia's eyes widened and she shook her head, "No! No, I'm not. I was... well I've been planning this for about three years now and I have plenty of backup and fake IDs and- fuck. Okay. Will you run away with me?"

Frank's face went blank as he stared at her. She grew worried and was just about to regret even asking before Frank took her into a sudden and tight hug. He let out a choppy breath, "I want to so bad, Jamia. But I have a leash on me, remember? I don't know if its possible..."

She let go of him and muttered a curse under her breath, "Well, um, I thought about that too. Maybe you can just not show up one day?"

He sighed and leaned back onto his bed, "It might work if I give him an excuse. Like there's some trip that my mom and I are going on and we'll be gone for a few days? You think he'll buy it?" He looked over at her.

Jamia tilted her head back and pursed her lips, "It just might. But make it believable. Don't stutter or put off any obvious tells."

He nodded, "Okay. So what's the whole plan?"

She didn't hesitate for a second, getting maybe a little too excited about the whole ordeal, "My car is stocked up with supplies to last us a month at least. That should give us enough time to find a safe place. My first option is my 3rd cousin who lives in New York. We used to be super tight and she said if I never needed anything..." she left the sentence hanging but Frank completely understood, "I filled up the tank and have extra gallons of gas in my trunk. And for you... I think you should just pack what you think you really need. Clothes, essentials, personal items. Nothing too obvious." She glanced over at the guitar case placed against the wall, "I might be able to fit that."

"Thank God," Frank sighed, "Well, when does this plan go into action?"

"Tomorrow. I called up my cousin today and she has a spare room ready for us until we figure things out. She's making us take online classes to finish school, though." She shrugged, "Could be worse."

"That's good. I'd at least like to finish high school." He ran a hand through his hair, "I have to see Gerard later today, what the hell do I say?"

"Say nothing." Her eyes went wide, "Please for the love of God say nothing. He's the last problem we need."

He went silent, staring at his hands.

"Frank," she started, "what happened between you two?"

He huffed, "We had sort of sex okay?!" His hair was in his face now, hiding the red that was creeping its way onto his face, "And I liked it. A lot. Jamia, I- I wanna fucking blow this town and never come back but... ugh, I don't know what the hell I feel towards him. I wanna leave but I'll miss him."

"Tell him you'll miss him then." She said it as if it were that easy, when it wasn't. Frank had slowly come to terms that he was probably in love with Gerard. He blushed when he thought about him and maybe once or twice he gushed to Matt about him. He sort of hated the fact that he was attached to him because no matter what they could never be together. Frank was alive and Gerard was 106.

"Tell him goodbye like I'm going on the trip with my mom but not actually tell him why I'm being dramatic?" He asked, maybe scoffing just a bit. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I wanna leave today."

"Yeah," Jamia agreed, smiling, "But, um, how was it? With Gerard, I mean."

"I mean it wasn't the best sex. Mediocre, at best. I'm sort of a huge virgin, so that was a major factor of the suckiness. But what we did do was fine. Both got off, both were happy. We were both kinda cheesy, though," he felt a smile spread across his face, "He called me beautiful and said I was doing pretty good- trying to keep me confident, y'know?" Jamia nodded, "I kept saying how pretty he was and he kept giggling and it was the cutest shit ever-"

Jamia was just listening and nodding along but Frank shook his head, "Sorry, I started rambling."

"Its fine," she waved it away, "really. If it makes you happy, keep talking. Just leave out the details."

"Oh, uh, alright." The blush wouldn't fade, "He really has the softest skin even with all the scars he has on him. And the faces he made were just... so cute." He smirked, "He's pretty loud. He's gives pretty good blowjobs, too."

"Ah!" She covered her ears dramatically, "I don't want to hear about that!"

Frank sat up and teased her a bit more, "And his hands... god they felt so good on me..."

"Shut up!" She laughed and pushed him off the bed. Not on purpose, of course, but he still ended up there, causing his mother to rush to the scene from her room.

She took in the current situation and lifted an eyebrow at Frank who was rubbing his knee on the floor. He pointed an accusing finger at Jamia, "It was her! She pushed me off the bed!"

" Yeah, well," she struggled to find a comeback, "He started it! He wouldn't shut up about-"

He quickly covered her mouth with his hand and sent a look to his mom who automatically knew what Jamia was going to say next. Mother's had that kind of special power. They knew more about you than you do, "I see, well, let's keep the sex talk to a minimum, kay, Frankie?" She smirked and closed the door behind her, bursting into laughter once she was back in her room.

Jamia licked Frank's hand, causing him to draw it back. He wiped the spit on her arm, "Don't think you win. You'll be stuck in a car with me all the way to New York."

"Dammit," she said sarcastically, "I didn't didn't think this through."

...

Frank decided to go on friend date with Matt and sort of tell him why he wouldn't be around anymore. He was sitting and waiting in a coffee shop, tapping his feet and feeling nervous as ever. This was Matt, he shouldn't be so nervous. Worst case scenario Matt didn't want him to leave and asked him to stay. Frank avoided the newer shop with Sophie and chose one attached to a record store. He pulled at his jacket sleeves a bit and ruffled his hair a few times. And just as he thought he wasn't going to show up, he came in, looking a little stressed out. Frank automatically felt bad for the thoughts he had had.

He stood up to greet Matt with a hug, who took it grate full before sitting down across from Frank, "Hey, you chill?"

"Work's got me stressing. But nothing a little time won't fix. What about you? You look scared as all hell. Not to mention exhausted." Matt smiled sympathetically.

Frank sat back in the booth and sighed, "Its about Gerard and Jamia and-"

"Woah, wait. The cute black haired girl, right? Why is she in this?" He lifted an eyebrow and the man across from him face palmed. He forgot he hasn't told Matt a lot of what's happened recently and quickly began a brief synopsis of all the juicy details. Matt seemed almost as stressed as Frank but when he told him that they had gotten intimate, well, he seemed almost too excited. But not soon after did the elephant in the room come up.

"And since Gerard has threatened to kill both you and Jamia, we decided it would be best just to run away." He finished, not making eye contact, "We leave tomorrow for New York."

Matt made a 'huh' sound and rubbed his forehead, "So you fuck the guy and now you're leaving? Not only him but us?"

"I don't want anyone else to die, Matt." He said quietly, "He killed another priest for me, he closed down the church... I don't want you or Jamia dead. Worse case scenario, I die. And for me that doesn't seem like such a loss. I couldn't bear losing either of you."

"And you think I can?!" Matt raised his voice suddenly. He lowered it quickly, hissing under his breath, "Frank, I love you to fucking bits don't you fucking die on me."

He broke out into a smile, "I don't know whether or not to feel threatened or flattered."

"Both, you little shit." He rolled his eyes, back to normal within seconds, "But, Jesus, is there any other way?"

"From the looks of it... no. But I'll make sure to call you! Not from my phone of course but from random ones. Always answer. I... I'm gonna miss you a lot." Frank looked away and sort of blushed. It felt funny being vulnerable with people other than Jamia and Gerard.

Matt simply smiled back, "I'll miss you, too. We can meet up once you're safe, right?"

"Definitely. We can go to New York City and do shifty tourist shit. It'll be awesome." Frank smiled excitedly, sort of looking forward to New York from that perspective.

"Sweet." He nodded, "Do you wanna look at records now?"

Frank hopped out of his seat and talked in a strange voice, "I thought you'd never ask."

He held out an arm for Matt and he linked his arm with Frank's, talking in the strange voice as well, "Then let's be off!"

...

He set down the grocery bags with a thump, causing Gerard to pop his head around the corner with a huge smile. He skipped over to Frank, thanking him with a kiss. This is just making it harder, Frank thought to himself while he kissed back eagerly. He looked at what Gerard was wearing and almost laughed out loud. He tugged on the hem of his shirt, watching the other smile, very confused.

"You look like you stepped right out of the cover of Weezer's first album." He said bluntly, putting his hands on his waist.

"That's what I was going for, Frankie. Appreciate the fact I saved this from the 90s." He chuckled and ruffled Frank's hair, starting to put away the groceries.

Frank sat on the counter as usual, biting his nails out of sheer nervousness. This was the last time they were going to see each other. He had to make it count- all of it. He sat and watched as Gerard put all the perishables away first. He always had an order in which he put things away. That thankfully worked out for Frank because that meant they could do whatever as long as the milk didn't spoil. Gerard was in the midst if putting a box of cereal away when Frank gathered up enough courage to blurt what he was thinking.

"Do you think we could have sex again?"

It took a second for him to process the question and when he got it, he almost dropped the cereal box, tripped over himself, catching both the cereal and him on the island. He slammed the box on the counter and cleared his throat, trying to play it cool.

"Are you, um, sure, d-darling?" He stuttered, face red, "Last time-"

"I know," Frank sighed, "This time I'd like to go like, uh, all the way? If that's okay..."

He cleared his throat again and stood up straight, running a hand through his hair, "Well, yeah. I'd love to. But are you sure? I want you to be completely sure."

Frank chuckled at his worry wart of a sort of boyfriend, "I'm sure. What- what position would be best? For me."

"Top. Definitely top. For a first time." He nodded, "I actually prefer bottom so I guess it works out, right?"

Frank hopped off of the counter and made his way to Gerard, "Yeah. I guess it does. Where do you wanna do it?"

"Is the cot okay? I don't want anything too complicated." He asked as Frank pulled him into his arms, drawing circles on Gerard's waist with his finger tips.

Frank felt surprisingly cool now after only moments ago feeling as if he would pee himself just asking Gerard to have sex with him. He leaned in close and put his forehead against his, whispering, "I'm fine anywhere with you."

...

The two shared small kisses here and there, soaking each other up and still out of breath 30 minutes later. Frank kept running his hands through Gerard's hair and pressing kisses to his forehead and jaw. He was just so perfect and so... amazing to him. He hated it almost as much as he loved it. And as cliche as it sounds, it felt like hell having something he couldn't keep.

Gerard kissed him full on, making out with him slowly. It was sweet kisses they shared rather than the usual hot and heavy ones. They rarely got chances like that and to make it even worse for Frank, it was there last chance. They parted for a moment, shared a smile and continued on again, repeating this now and then. And during one of the moments they caught their breath, Frank said the words he thought he would never say to Gerard.

He pressed his eyes shut and whispered, "I love you."

Gerard's grip on his tightened and he hummed, "I love you, too."

Frank tried to tangle himself more with Gerard, the latter trying to do the same thing. He rested his head on Frank's chest and traced a tattoo gently with his fingertips. Gerard hummed happily again as Frank started running his fingers through his hair again. He knew he was going to regret saying this in the long run but he couldn't lie to him like he had done with so many other things. His life was already depressing hell, what else could go wrong? Not much, he assumed.

"I never want to let you go, Gee." He said quietly into his hair.

"Then don't." He replied simply.

"But I'll have to eventually. And that day feels sooner than it should." He paused, "I wish it wasn't."

"Frank," Gerard pulled away and looked at him, "what- what are you..." his eyes went dark when he caught on. He gripped the other tightly as if he might run right then, "You're leaving me?"

Frank pulled away and stood up, back turned to Gerard, who was still on the cot, sitting up and staring at him intensely, "It wasn't my idea. I just- I'm so desperate to be normal that I thought maybe saying goodbye was the right choice. Jamia and I leave tomorrow."

Suddenly he was standing right behind Frank, "Tomorrow? But..." he spoke through clenched teeth, "You said you loved me."

"I do." Frank turned around and sighed, "That's the root of this problem."

"We can make this work out, Frank, please. Darling, just stay-"

"Gerard. Gee, please." He closed his eyes, head tilted towards the floor, "We both knew this wouldn't work out. You closed a goddamn church down because of me."

"It wasn't you, it was Mark."

"You wouldn't have had to kill him if I wasn't there in the first place." He sighed, "And ever since you've started draining me, I've been feeling more and more depressed. This is wrong."

"Don't even." He scoffed, "Don't even say 'If you love me you'll let me go'. Because I won't. I can't let you go."

Frank huffed, "I'm leaving anyway. I wanted to say goodbye and that I love you. I wanted us to be together one last time before I go."

Gerard inched closer, "I've tried being nice, Frank," his hand hovered over his neck, "but I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

"What-" he started, cut off by the sudden contact of Gerard's hand on his pressure point. Frank collapsed forward into his arms, unconscious but only for a little while.

That meant Gerard had to hurry.

 


	13. Chapter 13

The sharp, repetitive pounding in his head is what woke Frank up from unconsciousness. Never in his life had someone done that to him. If Gerard was around him, he would kill him, no questions asked. He sat up from where he had been lying, surprised to see the familiarity of his own bedroom. Of all the places he could've been drug to, it was his own home. He shot up when he thought about the possible fact that his mother could be in the home, going to open the door and seeing it was bolted shut from the outside. He gave it one last hope yank and finally gave up, collapsing in a tired heap near the door. 

Today was supposed to be the day he ran away with Jamia, New York in their minds as they drove down back roads, laughing past their anxiety. But now he was in his room, locked in and with- possibly- no one home. No one to save him when he was stuck in love with a mad man. But, to be fair, he did expect a reaction like this; Gerard doing whatever he could to keep his own slice of heaven with him. No matter how much Frank thought he loved being with Gerard, he couldn't seem to find a reason to forgive him for this. He had messed up so many other parts of him, even taking away his shot at freedom. What compelled him to do this? Lock him in one of the only places he felt safe?

"Dammit!" he yelled, letting his head fall back against the wall.

He wasn't even going to try and convince himself crying was wrong because he didn't get a chance to before he was wiping away tears. It was pathetic, more or less, because it did nothing to help him. He was still a failure of a person. He got held back in school, making him the only 19 year old senior. He disappointed his father to the point where he left the family. And now, he had let down his best friend. I bet she's waiting for me, he thought, Too bad I'll never show up.

The sudden thought process seemed comforting. He had tried it before, failing, of course. But... maybe now he could succeed. Easy enough, right? He stared up at the ceiling, tears drying, thinking about the ways he hasn't tried. He decided to search his room for supplies, settling on the rope from the emergency ladder his mother made him keep in his room. It took him a bit to actually get the steps off of one side, but by the end of 20 minutes he had a perfectly good rope. He tied a simple knot on it, satisfied with the amount of room he gave himself.

Now for the hard part. He sighed and jumped up onto his bed with a loud, eerie squeak, reaching up to tie the other end of the rope to the ceiling fan. He slipped his head in , already feeling the rope dig into his neck a bit. He heard voices slowly approaching his door and took action, taking a deep breath and a step forward.

...

"Now, you see, Linda, I care about your son almost as much as you do, and I can assure you that when we practice we practice safely." He chuckled into his coffee, watching the woman across from him do the same.

She smiled and set her coffee cup on the table, "That's good. Now, earlier—when you brought Frank home—I didn't quite catch what happened to him."

Gerard leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs, waving it away, "Its fine. But we were... practicing and he got a little tired afterwards. Which is understandable, we all get tired after that, but he fainted when he stood up. Must of been a head rush or something. Thankfully I caught him before he hurt himself." Gerard paused, leaning forward and clutching his drink, "Can we be real for a minute?"

Linda nodded, leaning forward as well, "Yes, of course."

"I said that loud enough so that lady over there," he nodded to a gray haired woman with a crude expression on her face, "heard it. What actually happened is Frank told me he was going to run away with a friend of his. I panicked and pressed his pressure point. I hope you can understand."

She opened her mouth to speak but ended up making a strange noise before finding her words, "R-running away? I-I... I would be done something similar, Gerard, I'm so sorry you went through that. You two didn't fight, did you?" She looked up at him with an expression that resembled terror.

Gerard nodded slowly and watched her start to pack up her things, "Why, what's wrong? Linda, our fight wasn't anything too serious! We had s- practice and he told me he loved me and that he was running away. I was shocked- I snapped- I-"

"Its not you I'm worried about. Its Frank. If he's left home alone- in a locked room- for so long he could... well I don't want to imagine. I would just like to go back and check on him. You can come if you wish."

"Of course." He replied, suddenly worried as well.

He knew Frank was reckless and had a past with hurting himself but he wouldn't really go through with it, right? He shook his head and drove to his house with Linda, close to throwing up. He texted Sophie while they drove, telling her information if he walked into what he was expecting. Sophie was good at this kind of stuff since she was born and raised a vampire. She was the one to help Gerard get settled when he first moved into the town. It was like he had mother again.

When they finally got to the house, Linda rushed out of the car and into the house, Gerard on her tail. She was frantic, searching for her house key when he put his hand on her shoulder. Linda whipped around and apologized, wiping hair from her face. She took a deep breath and unlocked the door, making her way to Frank's room calmly.

"I'm sure he's okay. I can hear him moving about." Gerard reassured her, speaking softly.

"I'm just being-" she paused when there was a sudden noise—a sound she had never really heard before—and then complete silence. Gerard and her exchanged a look, both running up to Frank's door and unlocking it. Linda screamed.

Frank hung from the ceiling fan, eyes open and glossing over slowly, head lolling to one side, mouth open. Gerard stood shocked in the doorway, staring at him in disbelief. Linda sobbed and grabbed onto his arm, breaking him from his trance. He yanked out his phone and dialed Sophie's number, handing it to Linda.

"Tell her that it's what I thought it was. She can help. Please just—I knew this is hard—please. Call her." He said while carefully walking over to Frank.

He scanned the room before getting his pocket knife from a pair of jeans lying on the floor. He easily sliced through the rope, catching Frank before he fell to the ground. He could hear Linda sob into the phone and Sophie consoling her. He held Frank in his arms and let himself feel these emotions. It was natural to feel them. Linda came running over after the call ended, touching his face and sobbing even harder. He saw true and utter pain in her as she sobbed over Frank, who was still in Gerard's arms. Her tears ran along with her makeup and she didn't bother to fix it or suck it up and pretend she was strong. Gerard was proud of her to say the least, crying too but less dramatically. He ran his hand through Frank's hair, whispering things to himself that mostly consisted of 'its okay', 'it'll be fine', and 'its not over'.

"Gerard," said a deep voice from the doorway. He turned his head to Sophie. She sighed when she saw the desperation in his eyes. She knew he loved him but she didn't know he loved him enough to grieve, "Get up, honey. Come on."

"Sophie," he sniffed, noticing that Linda wasn't paying much attention to them, "Can- can- Is it-"

She knelt down and put a hand on his cheek, "Yes. Now come on- up."

...

The setting sun prickled his skin, but he would only be out in it for a short period of time. He just had to carry what he had filled at the gas station into the church. He loved the church so much and it was sad to see it go, but it had to be done. He could feel his grandfather—the one who originally built the place—rolling around in his grave. The beautiful architecture would be missed by few, he knew it. He would miss it only the smallest bit, his favorite memories all happened in there. He had kissed Frank for the first time here. Generally he had all his first times with Frank there. He smiled at the thought while pouring the strong clear liquid onto the first floor. He held back a cough and continued his work, thinking about his moments with Frank.

He remembered the time the tension was starting to grow between them as they read that story about them. He could still see his red face and cautious hand reach to pull the hem of his shirt down. He didn't blame him though, the story may have needed work but it was still hot. He recalled the times they held each other and felt one another merely to feel skin on skin. The smile on his face didn't fade when he thought about Frank touching his scars and whispering rancid, filthy things into his ear when the town had fallen asleep. He had always loved his hands. He especially loved how his fit perfectly with them.

The gasoline smell was awful but he had to do this. The place wouldn't catch fire easily if he didn't use it. Then the fire department would be involved and he really didn't want that. The chief and him really weren't on the best terms, especially since last year when he had that firework mishap. Damn kids and their sparklers. He shook himself and looked at his progress. The top level of the church was soaked in gasoline. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the clock on the wall, the time waking him up from his fuel high. He opened some windows to air it out, after all the fire would need some fresh air to roar. 

He walked backwards down the stairs, making sure to pour what was left of the can as he did so. The main level took longer than upstairs. He drenched all the pews, floors, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the balcony, and his beloved office. That was the place that Frank and him had learned each other's names. And where quite a few other things happened. (ie. a plethora of flirting) He threw the can on the ground and took one last sweep of the place, taking out the matches from his pants pocket. He lit one and threw it up the staircase, running back down to light and toss several more around the building. He grabbed his suitcase and backpack on his way out the church doors, slamming them behind him. 

the sight wasn't much to look at for the longest time, but about ten minutes he could start to see the fire bloom, its twisting red flames lapping at the window sill. The upstairs is what roared first, the glass on one window breaking with a sharp sound. It almost made him jump. Almost. He heard a car approach the church, the radio blaring Blink-182. The car parked, engine still running, the radio turned down just a smidge. The door slammed shut with a strange squeak that he knew he would be the one to fix. He continued to watch the flames, pretending he hadn't noticed what he had noticed. 

His shoes made a click sound as he walked towards him. Gerard only turned to look at him when he held his hand, his grip gentle and soft. Frank looked paler, a good sign. He wore a white dress shirt and a pair of ripped blue jeans along with a pair of simple black shoes. He stared at the fire with something that resembled malice or disgust. He snapped his vision to the man beside him, a smile tugging on the corner of his lip. The flames flickered in the reflection of his eyes, the eyes itself dark and lacking anything mundane. His smile grew into a full grin, his new fangs becoming visible. Frank's eyes had new colors in them alongside the usual golden yellows, greens, and browns; red. The faux wind from the now roaring fire blew his hair into his eyes. He blew it back. 

He had a feeling inside him that felt, oh he didn't know- exciting? He felt stronger and present, even flexing a bit when he had first woken up in Gerard's arms. He could feel the power asking to be used at his fingertips but he pushed it back as he held the other's hand. This fucked up kind of love could push back that power for now. He just had to wait to use it. He smirked at the ways he could utilize it, looking Gerard up and down with a hidden leer. He glanced back at the car, still hearing the chorus of Always playing. He leaned in very close to Gerard's ear, tempted to nip playfully at his neck. Somehow he managed to rebuke the temptations long enough to whisper lowly.

"It's time to go."

 


End file.
